Indonesia meets own target with six golds in Asiad

Indonesia meets own target with six golds in Asiad

BANGKOK (JP): When runner Supriati Sutono lurched over the
finish line to win the women's 5,000 meters on Friday, Indonesia
met the target it set for itself at the 13th Asian Games.

Fielding 128 athletes in 21 sports, Indonesia wound up its
Asiad campaign on Sunday with six gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze
medals. It ranked 11th on the medal standings, the same position
it gained at the Hiroshima Asiad but far behind Southeast Asian
neighbor Thailand. The host nation completed its glorious run in
fourth place with a haul of 24 golds.

Deserved thanks must go to the Indonesian gold medalists,
including several surprise winners, for enabling their country to
hold its head up high despite the shattering turmoil off the
playing field of the past year.

Men's badminton team

The winning team, mostly banking on Asiad debutants such as
Hendrawan, Taufik Hidayat, Budi Santoso and doubles specialists
Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan, crushed China 4-0 in the final to
retain the gold won in Hiroshima.

In a daring move, Indonesia reshuffled its Thomas Cup team,
which won its third straight victory in May, for the Asiad. It
picked a younger squad of Taufik, Budi, Tony and Tri Kusherjanto
over chronically injured Hariyanto Arbi, Marlev Mainaky,
underform Indra Wijaya and disgraced Sigit Budiarto, serving a
one-year drug suspension.

Virtually an unknown quantity going into the Games, the
revamped Indonesian team was seeded second behind China.

The tremendous performances by Taufik, Budi, Candra and Tony
have raised hopes they will fill the shoes of their distinguished
compatriots.

Ricky Ahmad Subagja/Rexy Ronald Mainaky

At 30 and 27, Rexy and Ricky were the two veterans on the
badminton team. Their wealth of experience more than made up for
any age disadvantages as they claimed back-to-back men's doubles
golds.

Solid teamwork and the uncanny ability to compensate for each
other's weaknesses are keys to their success. During their seven-
year partnership, the duo have collected nearly all the sport's
major trophies, most notably Olympic gold in 1996.

Rexy is planning to retire within the next two years,
depending on whether he can keep up with his juniors for the 2000
Olympics. Ricky plans to follow if a suitable younger partner is
unavailable.

Yayuk Basuki

Born Nani Rahayu Basuki, Yayuk Basuki realized her longtime
dream of Asiad singles gold on the threshold of retirement.

Her collection of four golds during four Asiad appearances
date back to 1986 when, at the age of 16, she shared women's
doubles glory with Suzanna Anggarkusuma.

Yayuk's road to victory in Bangkok included two upsets of
higher ranked Chinese Li Fang and Thai heroine Tamarine
Tanasugarn.

Her success could not be categorized a complete surprise
because she has been ranked as high as 20 on the circuit and has
a slew of top victims under her belt. Considered by many one of
the most talented and athletically gifted women's players, Yayuk
will retire following the Australian Open next month.

Supriati Sutono

Her dramatic win has been lauded as one of the biggest
surprises of the Asiad.

Nobody dared bet on her before the race began, even up to 100
meters before the finish. The slight Army sergeant sneaked
unnoticed through the pack in the last few meters to overtake
pacesetter Sunita Rani of India and grab gold, the first in track
for her country in 36 years.

Supriati, who finished fifth in the 10,000m, edged Rani by
just two hundredths of a second.

I Gusti Made Oka Sulaksana

Oka would have not won the coveted gold medal if his protest
against his chief rival Kenjo Motokazu's unsportsmanlike behavior
had been dismissed by the jury.

Indonesia's chef de mission Mochammad Hindarto had said
earlier that the surfer had a realistic chance to win a gold
based on his performance in Asiad warm-up events in Australia.

Oka, raised on the beaches of Sanur, Bali, has his sights set
on the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

"I have always dreamed of competing in the Olympics," the 27-
year-old said.

Arief Taufan Syamsuddin

With the Indonesian karate team's expectation to win a gold
medal from women's 60kg specialist Nilawati Daud dashed, Arief
Taufan Syamsuddin shrugged off injury to emerge as an unlikely
hero.

Arief, 24 and competing in the men's 60kg division, sustained
a foot injury in his semifinal bout against Adnan Laoundi of
Syria. But he was still too good for Fakhruddin Taher of United
Arab Emirates in the final.

"I never thought about winning the medal. All I had on my mind
was how to win every match," Arief said. "The injury didn't
matter to me at all." (yan)