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.