Indonesia struggles in 2nd place
Indonesia struggles in 2nd place
Moch. N. Kurniawan and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Surabaya
Indonesia continued on Wednesday in second place on the medal
table in the 12th ASEAN University Games with a total of 19 golds
after the fourth day of the competition.
The host team, however, looked to be struggling to close the
gap with leader Thailand, which topped the standings with 30
golds.
On Wednesday, Indonesia won three golds from track and field
and seven golds from pencak silat, but those were totally swept
aside in the swimming pool in which Thailand bagged five and
Philippines three gold medals.
Thailand added its collection with one gold in pencak silat
and another rampage of eight golds in track and field.
Indonesian athletes, as expected, were unchallenged in pencak
silat, winning seven of ten golds on offer.
The pairing of Agus S.R. and Risdianto started the gold rush,
followed by women's team consisting of Dwi Retnoningsih, Ami
Lutiasari and Devi Rosalina.
Later in the afternoon, national champion Puspa Endah
Putranti, Triana Agustine, Surya Akbar, Andi Zulkarnaen and Ihdi
Karim Makin Ara joined the gold celebration.
Amid Thailand's continued domination on the track, Indonesia
stole three golds, courtesy of male pole vaulter Nunung Jayadi,
Rini Budiarti in the women's 1,500-meter run, and Dudung Suheni
in the men's hammer throw.
In total, Indonesia ended Wednesday's competition with an
additional seven golds from athletics, while Thailand brought
home 19 golds, already equaling its achievement in 2002 in the
Philippines.
Meanwhile, Indonesian swimmers ended up empty-handed at the
Surabaya International State University (UNESA) swimming complex.
The home swimmers had to be content with two silvers and six
bronzes. The silvers were contributed each by Donny B. Utomo,
Indonesia's only gold medalist at the 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA)
Games, and Febriyanti.
At the basketball arena, which is featuring only two teams,
Thailand beat Indonesia 77-65 to force a third game tie-breaker
after Indonesia won the first game 76-68.
Thailand topped the standings with 30 golds. Indonesia was in
a distant second with 19 golds followed by Malaysia (4),
Philippines (3), Vietnam (1) and Singapore (1).
Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and East Timor have yet to win a medal.