Myanmar bests RI in canoeing

JAKARTA: The Myanmar canoeing team bested its Indonesian counterpart at the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) Canoeing Championships, which were held from last Monday until Thursday in Malaysia, by taking 12 gold medals, 11 silvers and seven bronzes from 24 events.

"The Indonesian canoeists only managed to secure 12 gold medals and nine silvers to finish in the second place," secretary general of the Indonesian Rowing Association (PODSI), Budiman Setiawan told Antara on Saturday.

Indonesian women's canoeist Sarce Arrongear of Irian Jaya was named the best athlete of the annual event. Next year's event will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In a separate development, Vietnam has agreed to have canoeing included in the Hanoi 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The Kuala Lumpur 2001 SEA Games did not include the sport. -- JP