East Java and Jakarta rule national archery championships

JAKARTA (JP): The 1988 Olympic silver medalist Nurfitriyana Saiman led the Jakarta women's team to the President Cup at the national archery championships in Metro, Lampung yesterday.

Nurfitriyana, teamed up with her national training camp colleagues Purnama Pandiangan and Jacqueline, proved their billing as the country's best women's archers; they routed the East Kalimantan squad composed of national leading archer Hamdiah, Dahliana and Corita Herman 210-2 in the 70-meter Olympic event (NOR) final staged at Samber Metro field to take the coveted trophy.

East Java, with Nurfitiyana's co-Olympic medalist Lilies Handayani, managed only the bronze after beating Jambi 204-180.

In the men's event, East Java shared the glory with Jakarta's triumphant squad after the solid trio of Hariyono, Hendra Setiawan and Gatot Aryanto, the National Games gold medalists, survived a thriller with a 222-203 win over host team made up of Sumardi, Muamar Nawi and Yulianto.

It was East Java's fourth straight success in the annual championships. "We are proud to bring home a record fifth trophy," team manager Yahya Buari was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

The victory put East Java, fielding 12 male and six female athletes, atop the medal tally with four golds, three silvers and three bronzes. They came in ahead of Jakarta, which racked up three golds, a silver and a bronze. West Java trailed in the third place with a gold, three silvers and a bronze.

The week-long championships, which will end on Sunday, serve as a training ground for national archers who will represent Indonesia in Hiroshima's Asian Games in October.

Today's programs will feature traditional events, with a total of 10 golds up for grabs. Over 280 archers from 18 provinces are joining the championships.

While the competitions proceed, the national archery federation (Perpani) is holding its plenary meetings to elect its board members for the 1994-1998 term. Three figures Didi Sukardi, Udi Harsono and Martubi Makki are the strong candidates to replace outgoing Haposan Panggabean. (amd)

Medal tally:

G S B E. Java 4 3 1 Jakarta 3 1 1 W. Java 1 3 1 E. Kalimantan 1 1 3 Jambi 1 2 0 N. Sumatra 1 1 0 S. Sulawesi 1 0 3 Lampung 0 1 1