Cyclists help Indonesia move into second place

By Novan Iman Santosa

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's cycling team led the nation's charge up the leader board on the third day of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here on Monday, which saw host Malaysia surge further ahead at the top of medals table.

It was a glorious night for Indonesian cyclists, who celebrated a number of victories that saw their team move into second place behind Malaysia.

The hosts have amassed 30 golds, 15 silvers and 18 bronzes, with Indonesia trailing in distant second with 15 golds, 13 silvers and 17 bronzes.

Nurhayati led an Indonesian one-two finish in the women's 3km pursuit at the Kuala Lumpur velodrome for her second gold in as many days. The other two gold medalists were Suwandra and Samai.

Veteran Nurhayati clocked 4 minutes 23.461 seconds to beat younger sister Nuraini, who had to be content with second place in 4:27.295. The Indonesian duo relegated Malaysian Noor Azlan Alias to third with a time of 4:14.498.

In the 4km individual pursuit held later in the evening, Suwandra clocked the best time of 4:50.371, shattering the previous games record of 4:53.13 he set at the 1997 Games.

Suwandra defeated Robert Lee of Malaysia, who struggled with a time of 4:53.511.

Panupong Maneepong of Thailand won his duel for third place over Victor Espiritu of the Philippines.

Samai shared the limelight with a 2-0 win over Josuah Ng of Malaysia in the men's sprint category.

Another veteran contributed to Indonesia's gold medal tally, with Jonathan Sianturi winning the all-round competition after collecting 53.300 points in the gymnastics event at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

Jonathan upset Sattra Suwansa of Thailand, who finished second with 53.050 points, followed by Loke Yik Siang of Malaysia with 52.925 points.

Richard Sam Bera joined the list of Indonesia's victorious veterans, winning the men's 100m freestyle for the country's first medal in swimming, but only after conquering a strong challenge expected from Malaysian competitor Allen Ong throughout the race.

The Indonesian trailed the Malaysian by a whisker at the turn before pulling away to touch the wall in 51.03 seconds, which equaled his Asian Games' best time.

Allen followed close behind in 51.31 seconds, with Mark Chay Jung of Singapore placing third in 51.76 seconds.

It was a sweet farewell for Richard, who plans to retire from competition after this SEA Games meet.

M. Akbar Nasution finished in third place for a bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke behind Elvin Chia of Malaysia and Tran Xuan Hien of Vietnam.

After Derry Darmansyah's victory on Sunday, it was Emerald Margareth who took the honor for Indonesia in the tae kwon do arena. Emerald held off Sally Solis of the Philippines in the final clash of the women's middleweight category.

The bronze went to Ho Thi Thanh On of Vietnam.

The team had the chance to win another two golds, but Rosandi and Onyas Nurmala failed to overcome their respective opponents, Phan Tan Dat of Vietnam in the men's middleweight and Veronica Domingo of the Philippines in the women's lightweight event.

Meanwhile, Inosensius Iku Laka and Bayu Firmansyah both contributed bronze medals in their classes.

After an opening day drought, Indonesian karatekas finally took two gold medals on Monday.

M. Hasan Basri defied what was otherwise a Malaysian blitz on the day by defeating Kong Tai Moon in the 65kg category, while Isfan Tanjung crafted his own piece of glory at the expense of Lim Yoke Wai, also from Malaysia, in the men's individual 60kg.

The fencing team joined the Indonesian gold medal list through Christina Marthina Timisela, who beat Lenita Garcia Reyes of the Philippines in the women's epee. Singaporean Teo Ah Heok and Thai Woranud Boonmahanak came away with the bronzes.

Christina's male compatriot Edi Sucipto fell short of victory, losing to Nontapat Panchan of Thailand in the men's epee.

The equestrian team could only manage a bronze in the team dressage competition, finishing behind Malaysia and Thailand.

The wushu team appeared to finish on a low note on Monday, ending the day with a bronze through Sandry Liong in the men's nandao and nanguan.