Indonesia fails at Ladies Cup

Wed, 18 Jul 2001, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian women karatekas participating in the
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games missed taking home any medals from
the Ladies Cup Open Tournament in Tokyo over the weekend.

"The tournament's kumite (fighting) events were dominated by
European karatekas. Even Japan only grabbed one gold. But I am
not disappointed with the results," Indonesian Karate-Do
Federation (Forki) official in charge of athlete development
Ahmad Budu told The Jakarta Post over the phone from Tokyo.

"Our karatekas have yet to enter the technical session so they
could not do much in kumite. But they did show good physical
strength and stamina."

The federation sent eight karatekas to the event on July 14
and July 15 to evaluate their preparation for the Kuala Lumpur
2001 SEA Games. The federation also sent 11 men karatekas for
training sessions with three karate schools.

In kata (the arts), the team had to improve its synchronized
moves, he said.

"Actually, we had a chance to grab the bronze when the team
performed the Ji-on routine. But one of the team members couldn't
make the last swing in time. It was very obvious and it stunned
the spectators," said Ahmad.

"Malaysia grabbed a bronze in the team event but I don't think
they will pose a major threat as I am sure we can improve our
performance, especially at our scheduled training sessions here,
including with the Japanese national team."

The Indonesian karate squad is having training sessions with
teams from the Tokyo Daigaku University, the Shotokan Karate
International Federation (SKIF) and the Japan Karate Association
(JKA).

Ahmad also said Malaysia had been a serious contender in the
under-60 kilogram kumite event while Vietnam was dangerous in the
free class event.

"They did not get any medals there but it could be another
story at the SEA Games. We have got to work harder even though we
still dominate in the other events," he said.

The federation is aiming to capture five to seven golds from
19 events at the Sept. 8 to Sept. 17 Games. (nvn)

View JSON | Print