Kasto Subekti lift judo title

JAKARTA (JP): Kasto Subekti of East Kalimantan shrugged off the odds to lift the prestigious free class title as Jakarta took the overall title at the national judo championships yesterday.

Kasto, 31, and a member of the national judo team in the 1992 Asian Games in Beijing, wore out the patience of fellow finalist P. Wijayanto of Central Java during the battle which failed to invite cheers from any of the 2,000 packed into Senayan's Hall C.

Kasto, also a first sergeant policeman, maintained his composure in handling his attack-minded and powerful rival, moving around the mattress while keeping an eye on Wijayanto's shuffling feet.

The hugs and embraces ended suddenly as Kasto grabbed Wijayanto and threw him with a superb morote seonage technique. The referee and two judges, without any doubt, awarded Kasto the winning ippon point.

"It's a surprising present as my wife is expecting a baby in two or three day's time," an elated Kasto said. "I avoided a power play, since I knew I am not so strong as I used to be," he added.

Kasto also employed efficient efforts to upset favorite Baron Erlangga of Jakarta in the cross-over semifinals. Both were tied scoreless, but Kasto was given the victory for his aggressiveness.

Wijayanto reached the final after I Nyoman Sudarmayasa of Bali left the championships with a broken collarbone that he suffered in his preliminary round fight against Baron.

National top judoka Ni Made Suyudani claimed the women's free class crown with an unanswered ne waza geza gatame squeeze over fellow Jakartan Sugiarti. The title lifted Suyudani, who also won the 65kg division, the best female judoka tag during the three- day event. The best male title went to Pujiantoro of Jakarta who triumphed in the 65kg category on Saturday.

Host Jakarta confirmed its domination with a collection of five medals, five silvers and four bronzes. Central Java finished second with three golds, five silvers and three bronzes, ahead of South Sulawesi which took two golds and three bronzes.

The Indonesian Judo Association (PJSI) will hold its national congress today following the year-end competitions. (amd)