Indonesia off to winning start in int'l karate event
Indonesia off to winning start in int'l karate event
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Tiger team won two golds while their fellow Indonesians
grouped in the Buffalo team took one on the opening day of the
Indonesia Open karate tournament at the Bung Karno Indoor Tennis
Stadium in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The Indonesian trio of Aswan Ali, Elias Tende and Wahyu
Widayat outplayed their Myanmarese opponents, winning 5-0 in the
final of the men's team kata.
In the women's team kata, which featured only two teams,
Anneke Enoch, Flenty Meity Enoch and Rahayu Novita edged the
Buffalo to second place on a 3-2 victory.
The Buffalo team made amends for its failure in the women's by
triumphing in the men's at the expense of Saudi Arabia in an
"easy" 3-1 victory.
"It was beyond our expectations that we would put Saudia
Arabia down so easily," team manager Indra Nasution told a media
conference after the match.
However, Indra's statement aside, the home team was dealt an
initial blow when Sonny Simangasing failed to match Abdullah
Dhamadi, in which the Indonesian was swept to the floor twice and
needed medical treatment for his face.
After Bambang Maulidin drew with Khaled Falatah in the second
tie, Arif Taufan Syamsudin evened the score with his 10-3 win
over Amer Balgsem.
Team debutant Yuiadi Putra Warang built Indonesia's lead with
a 3-1 defeat of Abdullah Alaseery before veteran Hasan Basri
dominated Merei Albeshi 4-0 in the final tie for an overall 3-1
victory.
Indra looked relieved by the success, which he put down to a
realistic strategy as well as solid teamwork.
"The key to the success lay with Arif and Hasan," he said
about two of the national team members now preparing for the 2002
Asian Games.
"We did ready both players to play a decisive role. The
younger members also showed that they could fight along with
their seniors," he said.
"I have to admit the Arabian contenders had both better skill
and power. But they did not seem to have their strategy worked
out," he added.
Malaysia was the only other team ending the opening day with a
gold, courtesy of its women's team kumite squad, comprising Sri
Rajarajeswari, S. Premila and Agnes Tan Sze Ching.
The three-day tournament, with 16 countries taking part, will
begin competition in the individual events on Wednesday.