Chinese fencers polish Indonesian athletes
Chinese fencers polish Indonesian athletes
JAKARTA (JP): Ten fencers from China will spar with their Indonesian counterparts being groomed for the 18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
"They rank among the top eight in China. They will make excellent sparring partners for our athletes," Eman Sumusi, deputy secretary-general of the Indonesian Fencing Association, told The Jakarta Post yesterday. Sumusi also heads the intensive training program for the Indonesian SEA Games-bound fencers.
The ten are specialists in their respective fencing events. They are expected to arrive here on Nov. 16 to train with Indonesian fencers until Dec. 3.
Indonesia has picked up 20 fencers for the upcoming SEA Games, scheduled from Dec. 9 to Dec. 17. The twenty were selected from 25 fencers sent by the association to China for a two-and-a-half- month training period in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai from the middle of last August to Oct. 30.
The three cities are China's development centers for sabre, foil and epee competitions respectively.
The fencing competitions at the games will take place from Dec. 10 to Dec. 16. They offer ten gold medals in both the individual and team foil and epee events for each gender and in the men's individual and team sabre events.
In the 17th SEA Games in Singapore two years ago, the Indonesian fencing team obtained only three gold medals. The medals came from the men's individual epee, the men's individual sabre, and the women's team foil events.
Hence, the association's target at the upcoming SEA Games is to put more than just three gold medals into its purse.
The Indonesian fencing team almost made a clean sweep at the 1991 SEA Games in Manila, the Philippines. It scooped nine out of ten gold medals on offer. Will it be able to do that again this time?
The Philippines could be a stumbling block, while Thailand has dark horse potential. Like Indonesia, both employ coaches from China, Sumusi said.
Filipino fencers are known to have undergone tryouts in Germany while Thai fencers were seen during the team's training camp in China.
Thailand has particularly good fencers in the men's sabre and epee events. But they want to keep the other Southeast Asian countries in the dark about the strength of their athletes. They did not take part in the Asian championships preceding the games, Sumusi added. (arf)
Line-up of the Indonesian fencing team for the 18th SEA Games
men's foil: Eddy Suwarto, Andi Sukmawan, Elvizar, Zainuddin
women's foil: Christine M. Timisela, Sri Mulyaningsih, Paulani Ratu, Erma Susana Madjadji.
men's epee: Perdian Triagi, Lucas Zakaria, HO Lenzun, Machfuzi women's epee: Sri Ayani, Rini Ismalasari, Erni Yusnita, Mutti Susiarini.
men's sabre: Rocky Poerawinata, Fathullah, GF Bolang, Lucky Ramdani.