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.