Jakarta strikes before PON opening
The Jakarta Post, Palembang
Jakarta ruled early in the National Games (PON) by collecting six gold medals a day before the opening ceremony of the 16th edition of the Games here at Jakabaring Stadium on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Jakarta, which had been the dominant force in the nation's biggest sporting spectacle before East Java toppled it to win the most medals 2000, grabbed another three golds to give it a total of six overall.
One gold for Jakarta was contributed by its aging, veteran gymnast Jonathan Sianturi who triumphed in the pommel horse event. Young gymnast M. Aldila Akbar won the other two golds on the floor and vault events.
North Sumatra also won two golds, while East Java, Jambi, Riau, Lampung and West Sumatra took one apiece in the gymnastics competition.
Badminton began its team event competition with Taufik Hidayat, the only gold winner for Indonesia at the just-concluded Athens Olympics, suffering a stunning defeat to fellow national player Wiempie Mahardi but West Java still went through to the next stage with a 4-1 win over North Sumatra.
East Java, which lines up Olympic bronze medalist Sony Dwi Kuncoro, took the same score in its drubbing of Lampung.
Diving and tennis also kicked off their competitions a day before the opening ceremony. Other sports already playing their competitions as of Monday included soccer, basketball, volleyball, and paragliding.
In volleyball, defending champion East Java opened its bid with a convincing 3-0 win over Papua on Wednesday.
East Java also made a winning start in the basketball by crushing South Kalimantan 88-25. Another favorite team West Java overcame North Sumatra 67-51.
Meanwhile, the Games torch rounded off its two-week trip across 13 regencies. The torch, which has covered a total distance of 997 kilometers, ended its journey with a parade inside the town of Palembang to a welcoming reception of thousands of people.
It will stay at the Mayoralty Office before it is transferred to light the Games cauldron at the Jakabaring Stadium on Thursday (today).
About 7,000 athletes from 30 provinces will take part in 41 sports. The Games, which is being hosted outside Java for the first time in two decades, will run until Sept. 14.
Jakarta tops the nine other teams in the medal tally with six golds, four silvers, and a bronze.
Riau, North Sumatra and Jambi each collected two golds but Riau beat out the other two teams, thanks to an additional silver medal.