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)