Indonesians win two bronze medals
Indonesians win two bronze medals
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Busan, South Korea
Indonesia could only collect two bronze medals on the 12th day of
the Busan 2002 Asian Games on Thursday, one from men's tae kwon
do and another in women's mountain biking (MTB).
Indonesian tae kwon do star Muhammad Dalam Imam was awarded a
bronze medal after losing in the semifinals to South Korean Park
Hee-chul, the 2002 junior world champion, at the Gudeok Gymnasium
in the Gudeok Sports Complex.
Chairman of the Indonesian Tae Kwon Do Association (TI)
Suharto played down speculation of irregularities -- which are
becoming a common theme of these games when events involve the
hosts -- citing the use of electronic scoring technology.
"The use of electronic scoring has reduced the possibilities
of unfair judgments. So I think there is no question over the
fairness," he said.
Suharto conceded that it would have been difficult for Imam to
win the match as Park was just better.
"I am sure that Imam would have made the final if he had been
on the other side of the bracket from Park," he said.
There are six world champions from China and South Korea in
the tae kwon do tournament, said Suharto.
Team manager Suwandi Gunawan, however, said unfairness was
clearly visible as many of Imam's kicks were not counted. The
points were given to the Korean instead.
"This happened several times when Imam's accurate kicks were
not awarded with points," he said while holding back tears.
Sadness was the prevailing mood on the Indonesian tae kwon do
team with several of them also breaking down in tears after the
match.
Women's tae kwon do athlete Ika Dian Fitria who is in the 47-
kilogram fin division could not do much in her first round match
against China's Wang Ying.
With her taller posture, Wang defeated Ika 7-0 before being
stopped in the semifinals by Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Huyen Dieu.
Wang won the bronze medal and Nguyen grabbed silver after being
defeated by Chen Shih Hsin of Chinese Taipei in the final.
Earlier in the day, women's MTB cyclist Risa Suseanty clocked
4:36.08 in Gijang to earn the bronze medal.
Japanese cyclists Mio Suemasa and Mami Masuda grabbed gold and
silver medals respectively.
Suemasa recorded an unbeatable 4:10.55, while Masuda finished
with a time of 4:34.86.
Host Chung Hyung-rae grabbed the gold medal in the men's MTB
event clocking 3:54.33, while Takashi Tsukamoto of Japan won the
silver medal with a 3:54.80 and was closely followed by teammate
Ryo Uchijima who finished in 3:54.89.
Indonesian Sugianto Setiawan, who was expected to bring home
some hardware, could only manage fifth out of the nine
participants with a time of 4:02.14.
In addition to Risa's bronze medal, Indonesian cyclists
earlier contributed two silver medals from Uyun Muzizah and
another bronze medal from Santia Tri Kusuma.
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Busan, South Korea
Indonesia could only collect two bronze medals on the 12th day of
the Busan 2002 Asian Games on Thursday, one from men's tae kwon
do and another in women's mountain biking (MTB).
Indonesian tae kwon do star Muhammad Dalam Imam was awarded a
bronze medal after losing in the semifinals to South Korean Park
Hee-chul, the 2002 junior world champion, at the Gudeok Gymnasium
in the Gudeok Sports Complex.
Chairman of the Indonesian Tae Kwon Do Association (TI)
Suharto played down speculation of irregularities -- which are
becoming a common theme of these games when events involve the
hosts -- citing the use of electronic scoring technology.
"The use of electronic scoring has reduced the possibilities
of unfair judgments. So I think there is no question over the
fairness," he said.
Suharto conceded that it would have been difficult for Imam to
win the match as Park was just better.
"I am sure that Imam would have made the final if he had been
on the other side of the bracket from Park," he said.
There are six world champions from China and South Korea in
the tae kwon do tournament, said Suharto.
Team manager Suwandi Gunawan, however, said unfairness was
clearly visible as many of Imam's kicks were not counted. The
points were given to the Korean instead.
"This happened several times when Imam's accurate kicks were
not awarded with points," he said while holding back tears.
Sadness was the prevailing mood on the Indonesian tae kwon do
team with several of them also breaking down in tears after the
match.
Women's tae kwon do athlete Ika Dian Fitria who is in the 47-
kilogram fin division could not do much in her first round match
against China's Wang Ying.
With her taller posture, Wang defeated Ika 7-0 before being
stopped in the semifinals by Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Huyen Dieu.
Wang won the bronze medal and Nguyen grabbed silver after being
defeated by Chen Shih Hsin of Chinese Taipei in the final.
Earlier in the day, women's MTB cyclist Risa Suseanty clocked
4:36.08 in Gijang to earn the bronze medal.
Japanese cyclists Mio Suemasa and Mami Masuda grabbed gold and
silver medals respectively.
Suemasa recorded an unbeatable 4:10.55, while Masuda finished
with a time of 4:34.86.
Host Chung Hyung-rae grabbed the gold medal in the men's MTB
event clocking 3:54.33, while Takashi Tsukamoto of Japan won the
silver medal with a 3:54.80 and was closely followed by teammate
Ryo Uchijima who finished in 3:54.89.
Indonesian Sugianto Setiawan, who was expected to bring home
some hardware, could only manage fifth out of the nine
participants with a time of 4:02.14.
In addition to Risa's bronze medal, Indonesian cyclists
earlier contributed two silver medals from Uyun Muzizah and
another bronze medal from Santia Tri Kusuma.