Karatekas chop through opposition for two more gold

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Cebu City

A pair of golds from Umar Syarief and Christo Mondolu on Monday's second day of the karate competition brought the national squad's total to four -- equaling its 2003 haul and leaving it one short of its target.

In the 75 kg individual kumite, Umar beat Malaysian Jarvis Anak Julian 1-0 in extra time after a seesaw, nervy battle that was tied at 6-6 at the end of regular time.

Umar, gold medalist in the open weight division in 2003, seemed to be coasting to victory when he led 4-0. He was penalized several times and the Malaysian caught up and then took the lead.

With less than 10 seconds left in the bout, Umar was fortunate to force the draw after the referee penalized Jarvis.

A blow to his opponent's stomach gave the 27-year-old Indonesian the victory.

"I was very emotional in the final, so I lost control when I took a 4-0 lead. But I never gave up, I had nothing to lose as my opponent wasn't able to hit me and only got points through the referee's penalties."

"I think his experience made the difference," said Jarvis, 24, who has now lost all four of his encounters against Umar.

Christo, competing in the men's under 75 kg, appeared hesitant at the beginning of his bout against Rayner Kinsiong of Malaysia, the opponent who beat him in the last four of the 2003 SEA Games.

Christo quickly fell behind 0-2, winning his first point with 30 seconds left. With only two seconds left, he tied up the match.

Both fighters were overly cautious in extra time, finally letting loose in the last few seconds. It was then that Christo came through by landing the winning strike.

"It's my revenge from the loss in the 2003 SEA Games," Christo said.

As well as its golds from Monday and its two kumite team gold on Sunday, the country also has three silver and three bronze.

More golds may await on Tuesday's final day of competition, when Umar defends his title in the open weight division, with Bambang Maulidin competing in the under 55 kg class, Donny Dharmawan (-60 kg) and Rizky Syahban (-65 kg).

In the women's competition, Telly Melinda vies in the 48 kg class, and Nurahmi K.S. in the women's open weight.