Indonesia looks for SEA Games supremacy
By Primastuti Handayani and Ivy Susanti
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Sports supremacy in Southeast Asia is again at stake when the 20th SEA Games opens here on Saturday.
As in the past, the Games is almost assured of coming down to a two-team race between rivals Indonesia and Thailand. Fielding over 350 athletes each, the region's two sports powerhouses will battle it out for the greatest haul of the 235 gold medals on offer in 21 events, a sharp drop from 33 events organized at the last Games in Jakarta two years ago.
With the region finally back on the right track after two years of its worst economic crisis in decades, hopes are high that there will be improvement in the quality of performances at the Games despite the absence of several famous names.
Indonesia's 1996 Olympic badminton silver medalist Mia Audina, felled by personal problems, and Thai tennis sensation Tamarine Tanasugarn, who is concentrating on gaining tour ranking points, are among the conspicuous absentees.
The 354-strong Indonesian squad hopes to win about 70 gold medals to retain its overall medal supremacy. Promising a stiff challenge are the 361-athlete Thai contingent, which has vowed to return home with 40 percent of the golds.
"We can reach the target, thanks to the long-term training our athletes have undergone," Indonesian chef de mission Hindarto said.
"But it's much more important to maintain friendship among Southeast Asian countries," he quickly added.
Indonesia has set its sights on taking the event's opening gold medal when the competition swings into full gear on Sunday.
The burden is on men's cyclist Tonton Susanto, who will be battling to put his doping-tainted reputation behind him he pedals his way over 145 kilometers in the Individual Time Trial.
"Of course, I hope to win the gold, not only for my country, but mostly to rehabilitate my name." He was stripped of the gold two years ago after testing positive for a banned substance.
Tonton will face tough opposition from Malaysian Syed Hussaini Mazlan, who is competing in place of his compatriot and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Nor Effandy Rosli.
Twenty-nine golds in track and field, billiards and snooker, cycling, karate, swimming and tae kwon do will be on offer on Sunday.
Indonesia is also pinning gold medal hopes on Asian Games champion Supriati Sutono, who is setting out for another triple in the women's 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. She swept the three middle-distance golds in 1997, and is likely to face similar opposition this time around.
Malaysian athletes are likely to rule the track. The Malaysian Olympic Committee (MOC) has targeted winning 16 golds here to retain its supremacy from Jakarta.
The universally popular draw of track and field has been the event hardest hit by apparent indifference of the 10-competing nations, with organizers considering scrapping several events because of a shortage of entrants.
Most of the track events will not require heats due to the lack of competitors, and there are three or fewer competitors in several field competitions.
Indonesia also hopes to scoop seven from swimming and two from diving. Men's 200m backstroke specialist Albert Christiadi Sutanto and women's diver Shenny Ratna Amalia are the country's best hopes to make waves in the pool.
Albert will be pushed to the limit to overcome Malaysian Lim Keng Liat.
The Indonesian women's swimming team, in the absence of Catherine Surya and Rita Mariani, knows that Singaporean Joscelin Yeo is the woman to beat.
Queen of the pool Yeo, who arrived here on Thursday, denied reports she injured her elbow during final training. She said she was fine and was looking forward to doing well in the meet.
Several competitions began before Saturday's opening ceremony. In Friday's soccer match, Indonesia and Singapore played to a 1-1 draw to reach the semifinals, while in men's hockey Indonesia was held to the same score by host Brunei Darussalam.