Local hold their own in 'brain' sports

JAKARTA (JP): Contract bridge and chess are two 'brain sports' and in both Indonesia can hold its head up fairly high on the international scene, unlike in many sports measured by speed or strength where the country remains on the starting line.

The two table games were the only ones that provided silver linings to the gray skies that otherwise hung over the country as far as sport was concerned

Indonesia storming to the silver medal at the Bridge Olympiad on Rhodes Island, Greece, last month, was indeed a remarkable achievement which should be loudly applauded.

After dominating the Far East tournament scene by winning a record 11 titles in the 1970s and 1980s, Indonesia, headed by veteran pair of Eddy Manoppo, 51, and Hengky Lasut, 49, performed marvelously at the world's most prestigious event.

The other members of the winning Indonesian team were Denny Sacul, 48, Franky Kawur, 31, Giovani Watulingas, 36 and Sance Penelewan, 35. They were guided by veteran Munawar Sawiruddin, who, together with Manoppo and Lasut have been playing the pivotal role for Indonesia over the last two decades in major bridge events.

Returning home as runner-up in the 10th bridge Olympiad was something that Indonesia never dreamed of, the bridge association's chief, Wiranto, said.

Chess

Chess has also proved a successful battleground with Indonesia fielding top players in many international events both at home and abroad.

GM Utut Adianto was able to break the 2,600 elo rating ceiling and might increase his to 2,615 next month.

He managed to hold the marauding Polish female grandmaster Judith Polgar (2,619) in a chess duel in Jakarta last week. It was indeed a remarkable feather in the cap for the Indonesian Chess Association.

In the women's division of this brain sport progress has also been made, particularly by Upi Darmayanti, the country's number one player.

The 25-year-old Asian champion is now undergoing a serious training stint to realize her lifetime ambition to become Indonesia's first female grandmaster.

In golf, despite the tremendous increase in the number of courses, especially in greater Jakarta and West Java, Indonesia has so far not produced Asian-class players let alone world-rated ones.

The Indonesia Golf Association still seems to have many years of work to do to produce internationally rated golfers. True there were many international events staged in the country, but how far did our golfers could get when they came up against better players from the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

In the recent Volvo Matchplay, included in the Omega Tour contested at the Emeralda Golf and Country Club, only one Indonesian had the right to play.

Judging from the performances of some foreign golfers being groomed for the SEA Games here in October, it would be a herculean job for them to come out as the champion despite the fact that Indonesia is hosting the Games.

The country's automotive sports have had a year of flimsy achievements, especially in rallying, but not so much on the track despite the fact that Indonesia now has a world-rated circuit. The circuit has been certified by the sport's world governing body -- FIA -- saying it could hold a Formula One race.

In Track and field, swimming and gymnastics, three high- profile sports which can be used as a yardstick to gauge sports development in a country, Indonesia has also shown poor performances of late.

Lack of sports facilities and good coaches are some of many reasons to be blamed for the poor progress of our athletes. (rsl)