Controversy mars Amin's victory

JAKARTA (JP): A dispute over Nur Amin's victory in the men's 3,000m steeplechase final marked the first day of this year's Indonesia Open track and field championships at the Senayan Madya stadium yesterday.

Clocking nine minutes, 21.26 seconds, Amin beat Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalist Parluatan Siregar from North Sumatra.

But unlike his opponents, Amin missed jumping a hurdle. Negligent field workers only placed the hurdle on the track some seconds after Amin ran past the spot.

"Such a victory must be disqualified," complained East Javanese Abdul Manan, who finished well behind in third with a time of 9:36.15. Manan's protest went unheeded. The judges announced Amin's victory as steadfast.

Amin shot out like an arrow from the start, leaving the pack of runners far behind. About six minutes later, Siregar managed to catch-up and the two ran neck and neck until the finish.

In the final seconds, however, Amin, a marathon and 10,000m specialist, regained his lead and held on to win the race. Siregar finished second with 9:24:09.

Silent about the incident, Amin said he was happy with the victory. "It made for a glorious debut in this event," he said. Amin clocked his best time of 8:42secs in his favorite 3,000m at the Asian Junior Track and Field Championships in 1988.

Siregar, who is also the SEA Games 1,500m record holder, told The Jakarta Post he was not yet in top form.

Apparently disappointed about finishing second, Siregar noted that "for the time being, this is all I can do. After all, my ultimate goal is not winning at the Indonesia Open, but at the upcoming SEA Games in Chiang Mai."

Ruwiyati added another gold medal in the women's 5,000m to put Central Java atop of the provisional medals tally with two golds, a silver and a bronze. Ruwiyati, who produced a golden hat trick in the 1993 National Games, clocked 16 minutes 55.20 seconds.

Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka, North Sumatra and Irian Jaya took a gold each.

Another first day landmark was a new men's shot put national record by Sukraj Singh from North Sumatra. He threw 15.61m to break the previous record of 15.29 set by Geraldus Balagaise in the 1987 National Games.

Geraldus finished third with 13.63m behind I Wayan Gunaksi, the bronze medalist at the 1991 SEA Games in Manila. Gunaksi threw 14.02m. (arf)