Indonesia's karatekas fill SEA Games target
Indonesia's karatekas fill SEA Games target
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Karateka Novilus Tedius Yoku won the
prestigious men's open class on Wednesday to help Indonesia meet
its target of seven karate gold medals at the Southeast Asian
(SEA) Games.
It was a bittersweet outcome for Indonesia, which saw two
golden opportunities slip out of its grasp after Isfan Rahfisal
Tanjung and Lia Nurlianty made early exits from the men's 55-
kilogram and women's 48-kg divisions, respectively.
After all was said and done in the karate competition at the
SEA Games, Indonesia finished second to Malaysia in the medal
tally. Malaysia also collected seven golds, but won more silvers.
A total of 19 karate golds were on offer, with the remaining
five golds going to Vietnam.
Novilus had little trouble dismissing Vu Quoc Huy of Vietnam
in the men's open class final. Several times the 26-year-old
Indonesian displayed his defensive skills, evading punches which
would have otherwise caught him in the face.
The panel of judges gave Novilus a 4-2 win in the frenzied
bout, which saw the Vietnamese floored in a counterattack shortly
before the final buzzer.
Malaysian Hj Abdul Hapidz and Ryan Bonifacio Mariano III of
the Philippines took the bronzes.
The Indonesian camp celebrated the victory, which more than
made up for the defeats suffered by Isfan and Lia in earlier
matches.
Isfan lost to eventual gold medalist Ramasamy Puvaneswaran of
Malaysia 2-5 in the semifinals of the newly introduced 55-kg
division. Lia also crashed out in the semifinals, to eventual
winner Pham Hong Ha of Vietnam.
"I'm disappointed with my performance. I fought it out, but my
opponent was better than me," Isfan said in a corner of the Royal
Brunei Airlines Hall, watching his teammates celebrate Nuvilus'
victory.
Isfan said he was forced to follow a strict diet ahead of
Wednesday's match in order to make weight. He said he had not
eaten rice since arriving in Brunei last week.
"I used to compete in the 60-kg division, but the Indonesian
Karate-Do Federation asked me to fight in the new division.
Perhaps the strict diet caused me to lose my energy," he said.
He said he was planning to dedicate the gold medal to his
first child, which is expected in November.
"Apparently I'm out of luck," said the Asian Games bronze
medalist.
Isfan shared third place with Vietnam's Le Tung Duong, while
the silver went to Walter Gozum of the Philippines.
Singapore's Tan Shing Shin was the other bronze medalist in
the women's 48-kg division, while Morakat Tangkaew of Thailand
took the silver. (ivy)