Martial artist dies following bout

Martial artist dies following bout

JAKARTA (JP): A North Sulawesi pencaksilat martial artist died
of a brain hemorrhage after sustaining a head injury in his
semifinal bout at the National Student Games in Balikpapan, East
Kalimantan.

Spokesman for the East Kalimantan authorities Haritsah Ratman
was quoted by Antara as saying on Friday that Kisman Halungi
Wowontulap was rushed to hospital for surgery to remove the blood
clot but to no avail.

The 20-year-old athlete died on Thursday at 6:25 p.m. local
time, an hour after he was knocked down by I Made Suparwa of
Bali. He suffered a bruised head in the fall and lost
consciousness.

It was a rare accident in the Indonesian traditional martial
art, but Kompas daily reported that the mattress used in the
tournament did not meet security standards. It also said that
Kisman had also been knocked down in his first round fight but
got up to win.

State Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Agung Laksono,
Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono, Governor
Suwarna AF and National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo
Arismunandar expressed their condolences over Kisman's death.
(amd)