Injured Karuna out of KL Games
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's tae kwon do team lost one of its best medal-winning hopes at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games with the withdrawal of heavyweight Karuna through injury during training in Berkeley, California.
Karuna, a student at the University of California at Berkeley which is the center of student tae kwon doins in the U.S., sustained the undisclosed injury some three weeks ago, the Indonesian Tae Kwon Do Association (TI) secretary-general, Adrian Lumowa, said on Friday.
"We don't know exactly what kind of injury he is suffering but we expect it is only a minor one. It was only last week we received the news that his right ankle was strained," Adrian told reporters.
"It is a risk that all fighters have to take during training. If you don't want to get injured, don't be a fighter."
Despite the considerably light injury, Karuna's doctor ordered him to take full rest for two months, thus eliminating his chance of competing in Kuala Lumpur.
The tae kwon do association did not call up Karuna for the training camp at home bearing in mind that there were so many quality coaches at his university.
Karuna was also preparing himself for the inter-university world championships to be held in Berkeley, apart from his SEA Games preparation.
In Karuna's absence, TI will send the remaining 15 fighters as there is no eligible replacement for him.
Adrian however was still upbeat that Indonesian fighters could secure four gold medals, as set by the association.
Separately interviewed, woman fighter Juana Wangsa Putri is determined to win a gold on any occasion in which she appears at the SEA Games.
Juana, 24, won a gold in her SEA Games debut in Jakarta in 1997. She skipped the Brunei meeting due to her commitment to the Olympics program.
"Now the chance has come again. And I don't want to let it slip through my hands. I'm eager to make it a double achievement," Juana said.
Juana said that she and her team mates were in good shape after two months of overseas training in South Korea, where they had been pitted against strong fighters in several friendly meetings.
TI has also provided its athletes with a military-style workout in cooperation with the Marines.
"We benefit greatly from such training. It has enhanced our physical and mental shape as well as our confidence," Juana said.
However, she admitted that she was worried about unfair refereeing.
"If the referees go against us, what more can I say? I just want to call on them to uphold fairness," said Juana, who finished third in the 2000 World Championship in Croatia.
Diving
Meanwhile, the Indonesian diving team's gold hope seems to lie with Shenny Ratna Amelia, the gold medalist in Brunei.
"The team looks to be improving after China's outing. They look more confident," coach Harly Ramayani told The Jakarta Post during her protege's training at the Bung Karno Swimming Pool. Shenny will compete in the 10m competition.
The team, which has just returned from a training camp in China, comprises Eka Purnama Indah, Nani Wulansari, Herliani Dias and Shenny in the women's competition; Husaini Noor, M. Nasrullah and Sukran Jamjani in the men's.
The Indonesian Swimming Federation (PRSI) is also expecting another gold medal from Nani and Eka in women's synchronized diving. In the men's event, PRSI is fielding Nasrul and Noor.
"Eka and Nani have a better chance of winning the gold medal than Nasrul and Noor. But it doesn't mean that we don't stand a chance in the men's synchronized diving," said Harly. (01/nvn)