Indonesia to take part bridge event in 2002 Winter Games

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia is set to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time when the 2002 Salt Lake City Games in Utah begin in February, following an announcement in Paris on Thursday that bridge would be included as one of the exhibition events.

Marc Hodler, an Executive Council member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), confirmed bridge's inclusion in the winter games on the sidelines of the World Bridge Championships now underway in Paris.

The World Bridge Federation canceled the IOC Grand Prix, in which Indonesia is the defending champion, after the IOC accepted the federation's bid to have bridge included in the winter games.

"The decision means that Indonesia is guaranteed an invitation to the winter games," Bert Toar Polii, the Indonesian team's coach at the championships, said from Paris.

Indonesia won the 2000 Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, beating Poland, the United States, Norway, Italy and Brazil. Only the world's six top teams are eligible for the event.

Bert said that eight strong teams, in both the men's and women's categories, plus four countries for a junior competition, would be invited to Salt Lake City.

Perhaps providing proof of its eligibility for the Salt Lake City competition, the Indonesian bridge team upset Poland and United States II -- two of the world's leading teams -- in the opening two sessions played at the Bermuda Bowl on Thursday.

However, a surprise loss to Australia in the third session spoiled the team's earlier triumph as it ended the day's proceedings out of the top eight in the provisional standings.

Judging from the final scores, Henky Lasut/Eddy Manoppo and Denny Sacul/Franky Karwur must have been involved in a tight tussle as they won 16-14 against their Polish opponents.

The second match against U.S. II, which fielded its best pairs in Chip Martel/Lew Standsby and Alan Sontag/Peter Weichsel, was no easier with the Indonesians winning 17-13.

The next stage saw Indonesia treading familiar ground in the tournament which, going into Thursday's competition, had seen it record victories over big names such as Norway and France while struggling against unheralded teams like Russia, India and Guadeloupe.

This time around neighbors Australia delivered Indonesia, which played the pairing of Santje Panelewen/Robert Tobing in a combined lineup with Henky/Eddy, a shocking 5-25 defeat.

The results left Indonesia in ninth place with 178 points.

Meanwhile, their female compatriots moved up to 15th place with 146 points in the Venice Cup.

When asked about the men's team's position, Henky Lasut said he felt confident about qualifying for the top eight. "The key lies in the players' concentration," the most experienced team member said.

"If we're only going for a place in the top eight, it won't be difficult to achieve provided that we don't let ourselves down by making a lot of mistakes," Henky said.

The United States has shown its domination at the championships with U.S. I just a point ahead of U.S. II at the top. They were closely followed by Poland, Italy and Norway.

Those five teams looked safe for qualification, leaving the remaining ten teams fighting over the last three qualification spots.

Provisional standings

Bermuda Bowl: 1. U.S. I, 221 VP, 2. U.S. II, 220 VP, 3. Poland 218 VP, 4. Italy 214 VP, 5. Norway, 206 VP, 6. Egypt 185 VP, 7. Russia 184.6 VP, 8. Japan 180 VP, 9. Indonesia 178 VP, 10. India 177 VP, 11. Brazil 175 VP, 12. Australia 170.9 VP, 13. France 169 VP 14. Israel 168 VP, 15. Argentina 161.5 VP, 16. New Zealand 139 VP, 17. Guadeloupe 137 VP, 18. Hong Kong 116 VP.

Venice Cup: 1. France 253 VP, 2. England 236 VP, 3/4. Austria/China 213 VP, 5. U.S. I 209 VP, 6/7. Germany/South Africa 192 VP, 8. Netherlands 190 VP, 9. Italy 177 VP, 10. U.S. II 174 VP, 11. Israel 173 VP, 12. Canada 167.6 VP, 13. Japan 162 VP, 14. Australia 149 VP, 15. Indonesia 146 VP, 16. Brazil 145.5 VP, 17. Venezuela 112.5 VP, 18. India 101.4.