Local athletes win five golds at Malaysia Open
Local athletes win five golds at Malaysia Open
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia won five gold, four silver medals and
a bronze at the Malaysia Open track-and-field championships over
the weekend at the Darulmakmur stadium in Kuantan, Malaysia.
John Murray (men's 200-meter dash), Hendiarsin Ozlan (men's
pole vault), Nyoman Rae Trisandiana (women's triple jump), Ester
Sumah (women's 800 meters) and the women's 4x100-meter relay team
picked up gold in the event, as part of their preparations for
the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam next
month.
John Murray clocked 21.37 seconds to win the gold and was
followed by host sprinters R. Ganeshwaran and Azmi Ibrahim, who
finished in 21.69 and 21.85 seconds respectively.
Ester Sumah also upset Malaysian runner K. Soloseeni by
winning the 800 meters after running in two minutes 12.31
seconds. Soloseeni finished second with 2:16.65, followed by
compatriot K. Suriya Dewi with 2:19.65 seconds.
Nyoman Rae jumped 13.21 meters to bring home the gold as she
beat Malaysians Fong Len Tze with 11.52 meters and Norhayu Akmal
with 11.32 meters.
Hendiarsin vaulted 4.90 meters to beat South Korean Park
Kyung-soo with 4.80 meters and Malaysian Tajuddin Abdullah with
4.80 meters.
The women's 4x100-meter team of Irene Truitje Joseph, Dedeh
Erawati, Yolanda and Shanti Nelwan managed to finish first,
clocking 46.47 seconds.
The Indonesian Amateur Athletics Association's (PASI)
secretary-general, Barmawi Chaidir, told a press conference on
Monday that the result was satisfying as the Indonesian team was
warming up for the SEA Games.
"Unfortunately we still have no idea on Malaysia and
Thailand's strengths. Malaysia used the championships to select
its athletes for the Games. It hopes to select 35 athletes, but
only 17 are qualified for the Games. While Thailand withdrew at
the last minute," he said.
A PASI official in charge of athlete development, Paulus Lay,
said that the athletes were not expected to show 100-percent of
their skills.
"They only compete with 90 percent. We hope they can reach
their peak in the SEA Games," he said.
Irene failed to equal her personal best as she ran only 24.19
seconds in the 200 meters. The first place was taken by
Uzbekistan sprinter Lyobov Perepolova with 24.03 seconds.
She also finished second in the 100 meters, with 11.70
seconds, after another Uzbekistan runner.
In the first day of the National Junior Championships, two
national records were broken.
Alia Basalamah improved her height in the girls' pole vault by
clearing 3.30 meters. The national record was also in her name
with 3.15 meters jumped on April 30. Yurita Ariani lengthened the
national record in the girls' hammer throw to 42.61 meters. The
old record was 38.71, held by Kusmiati.(yan)