Martial artists relax to focus on matches

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Busan, South Korea

While keeping their eyes open to the possibility that host South Korea will do anything to win gold medals, Indonesian martial artists say they are ready to give their best although they will have to wait for a long time before they can perform in the 14th Asian Games.

They arrived in South Korea's southern port city with Indonesia's main batch of Asiad athletes on Sept. 23.

Interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post on Monday, the team managers of karate, tae kwon do and wushu said their athletes physical and mental readiness was not something to worry about as they faced other problems which posed a more pressing threat -- the host factor: South Korea's ambition to end second after dominant China in the medal tally.

Wushu team manager Ahmad Yani Syaiful said officials from Southeast Asian countries had agreed to a consensus that priority would be given to their native athletes in the scoring judgment.

"We have to do this because it seems that South Korea will do everything to grab as many gold medals as possible," he said.

Tae kwon do manager Fadly Potu said irregularities could occur especially if the overall medal tally race between South Korea and Japan was close.

"Tae kwon do is a martial arts originating from South Korea. It has become a symbol of national pride.

"They of course cannot lose their domination before their home crowd. It will be a disgrace for them.

"Not to mention that there are several countries asking for medal rationing. Qatar, for example, will surely win a gold medal or two," he said.

Qatar will host the Doha 2006 Asiad.

Besides anticipating the possible irregularities, the team managers emphasized the importance of having a low-key, relaxing day in the middle of their training sessions in the Athletes' Village.

"Our karatekas also have their own times of leisure at the village as there are so many facilities to be used free of charge," karate manager Tono Soe'oed said.

Ahmad Yani said although there were a lot of recreational facilities in the village, the whole team would go out sightseeing in the city "to enhance their concentration".

Fadly echoed Tono's statement, saying that it was not necessary to go out sightseeing downtown because the Athletes' Village had everything the tae kwon doins needed.

Karate begins on Friday and Saturday at the Yangsan College gymnasium in the neighboring city of Yangsan.

Meanwhile, Indonesian tae kwon doins will compete from Thursday until Sunday at Gudeok Gymnasium in the Gudeok Sports Complex. The wushu athletes have the same schedule as the tae kwon doins in Dongseo University's Minseok Sports Center.

Indonesia's karateka, tae kwon do and wushu athletes are among medal hopefuls in martial arts sports after total failure suffered by the boxers and judo exponents.

Boxer Bonyx Saweho was defeated by Mekhrodj Umarov of Tajikistan in the men's 48-kilogram light flyweight division. Bara Gomies was defeated in the 71-kilogram light middleweight division by Suriya Prasathinphimai of Thailand.

Women's judoka Endang Sri Lestari, Indonesia's only judoka in the 14th Asiad, failed to win a medal in the women's 57-kilogram weightclass.