RI athletes hailed for winning medals at Sydney Olympics
RI athletes hailed for winning medals at Sydney Olympics
SYDNEY (JP): The Indonesian team can hold its head high
despite missing an opportunity to win its second gold at the
Olympic Games here, chef de mission Arie Sudewo said on Sunday.
Arie maintained that he and everyone else in the country
involved in sports was delighted with the one gold, two silvers
and three bronzes Indonesian athletes had won.
"The mission is accomplished as the athletes kept the
country's gold-medal winning record intact, while at the same
time grabbing chances to win medals in sports other than
badminton," Arie said after attending a lunch at the Indonesian
Consulate General in Rose Bay.
Arie was referring to the female weightlifting trio of Raesma
Lisa Rumbewas, Sri Indriyani and Winarni, who snatched a silver
and two bronzes for Indonesia.
The Indonesian athletes competing in the Games also were
present at the gathering.
"This is the best our athletes could do. I'm proud of them
because of it. We must thank God for the results," Arie said.
The pair of Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan emulated Atlanta
Games gold medalists Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky in winning
the badminton men's doubles, with a 15-0, 9-15, 15-7 defeat of
South Korean rivals Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung.
Hendrawan carried the nation's hopes of lifting a second gold
on Saturday, but fell short in his encounter with the inspired Ji
Xinpeng of China, who won 15-4, 15-13 for his country's fourth
gold in badminton.
Ji had broken Indonesia's heart earlier by beating top-seed
Taufik Hidayat in the quarterfinals.
Indonesia won another silver, also from badminton, through the
mixed doubles pair of Tri Kusharjanto and Minarti Timur, who lost
15-1, 13-15, 11-15 to China's Zhang Jun and Gao Ling in the
final.
Lisa, who competed in the 48 kilogram division in
weightlifting, won an unexpected silver after champion Izabela
Dragneva of Bulgaria was stripped of her gold medal for the use
of the banned diuretic furosemide.
Indonesia's slim hopes of winning more medals lay with Juana
Wangsa Putri, who competes in the women's taekwondo 49 kilogram
division, women's diver Eka Purnama Indah, men's diver Muhammad
Nasrullah and the men's 4x100m relay run.
"I hope the remaining athletes will be able to reach their
best forms in the competition," said Arie, who is also vice
chairman of the National Sports Council (KONI).
Arie said besides badminton and weightlifting, KONI would
focus its attention on archery and boxing as two potential sports
where Indonesia could win medals in the next Olympics.
Apology
Meanwhile, Hendrawan and coach Agus Dwi Santoso apologized to
the Indonesians present at the lunch for failing to win the men's
singles gold that has eluded Indonesia since Alan Budikusuma took
it in 1992.
"I'm really sorry for spoiling the opportunity. I should have
been able to win," said the 28-year-old Hendrawan.
Agus attributed Hendrawan's defeat to his failure to cope with
Ji's offensive lobs and sharp smashes.
"But the most important thing was that he couldn't control his
ambition to win the gold. He already had it in his mind that he
would win it," Agus said.
Prior to the Olympics, Hendrawan said being overly eager to
win the gold could backfire on him.
Separately, women's diver Shenny Ratna Amelia, who finished
last among the 40 athletes in her event, said she could not cope
with the immense pressure of competing in the Olympics.
"I had 10 days to wait for D-day and for me it was too long.
Usually I only need three to five days to compete. I lost my
motivation a little bit. Besides, there were 40 divers on the
list and I was number 38," said the 15-year-old Shenny.
Her coach Harly Ramayani said Shenny was extremely nervous
ahead of the competition. "She just sort of blacked out. She
couldn't jump the way she used to. It's my fault anyway that I
couldn't get her mentally prepared for such a big event." (yan)