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)