Indonesian male SEAG archer tops in Canberra
Indonesian male SEAG archer tops in Canberra
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's Southeast Asian Games-bound male archer Hendra Setyawan came out first at the end of the elimination rounds at an archery tournament in Canberra, Australia, yesterday.
His female teammates, Nurfitriana Lantang and Hamdiah, finished second and third after yesterday's elimination rounds.
The tournament is being used by the Indonesian Archery Association (Perpani) as the last tryout for Hendra, Nurfitriana, Hamdiah and other Indonesian archers for the 18th SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from Dec. 9 to Dec. 17.
Australia and New Zealand are the other two countries taking part in the tournament. The archers being fielding in the tournament are also being prepared for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Hendra outdid the other eight archers in the elimination rounds with a score of 1,283. The best Australian archers, Jackson Fear and Scott Hunter, were second and third behind Hendra. New Zealand's Andrew Lindsay was fourth in the standings.
Today's final rounds, held at the National Sports Club Canberra, will see a refreshed rivalry between Hendra and his Australian and New Zealand opponents.
Swimming
Meanwhile, head coach of the Indonesian Swimming Association Dadeng Kurnia said that at the upcoming SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Indonesia's chance of winning lies in both the men's and women's 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays and 4x100m medley relay.
"We also hope for gold medals from Richard Sam Bera or Wisnu Wardhana in the men's individual events," said Dadeng. Wisnu and Richard won the gold and silver medals respectively in the men's 100m freestyle at the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore.
He went on to say that Richard and Wisnu's strongest competitor will be Thailand's Ratapong Sirisanunt, the 1993 SEA Games gold medalist in the men's 200m individual medley. He's particularly good at the 100m and 200m breaststroke, he added.
Dadeng was training Richard, Wisnu, Elsa Manora Nasution and Meitry Widay Pangestika at the Senayan swimming pool on Saturday. The four are part of Indonesia's 17-member swimming squad for the Chiang Mai games.
Diving coach Mochtar Yasin added that he expected gold medals from the women's three-meter springboard and platform events but indicated that Thailand might have a better chance for the gold.
Thailand will rely heavily on the strong divers it fielded in the Singapore SEA Games two years ago, Yasin added. They include silver medalist Srimoung Jidapone in the women's three-meter springboard, gold medalist Saowanee Chakwattana in the women's 10-meter platform, and Suchat Pichi and Prakong Ninjida, who won gold and silver medals in the men's 10-meter platform.
Table Tennis
Secretary-general of the Indonesian Table Tennis Association Johny F. Woworuntu said Indonesia's men's team has a better chance than their female counterparts at the upcoming games in Chiang Mai.
"As far as the men's team is concerned, ours are still the best in Southeast Asia. We have a 95 percent chance of making a clean sweep," Woworuntu said on Saturday at the National Sports Council's headquarters.
Leman Effendi, who coaches the men's team, added that two-time SEA Games gold medalist Anton Suseno has been specifically prepared to make a hat-trick in the men's singles at the games.
In the last SEA Games in Singapore two years ago, Indonesia's table tennis squad, both the men's and women's teams, made a clean sweep.
As for the women's team, its chances will be reduced significantly as Jin Jiuhong, the world number 14 from China, has now received Singaporean citizenship, Woworuntu said.
He added that "Jiuhong is more or less at the same level as Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti, but nevertheless, this will reduce our chance of winning by 40 percent." Rossy is Indonesia's number one woman table tennis player. (arf)