RI bags two silvers and one bronze in karate

BANGKOK (JP): Lady luck shone on Indonesia on Wednesday when the women's team took two silvers and one bronze in the 13th Asian Games karate competition at the Thammasat University sports complex.

Omita Olga Ompi took the first silver for Indonesia in the individual kata martial art demonstration event. She scored just one point less than world championship runner-up Atsuko Wakai of Japan, who collected 42.9 points to take the gold.

It was Omita's second silver in as many Asian Games.

The second silver medal of the day came from Sandra Ariyani in the 53 kilogram division. Sandra was outclassed 6-1 by world champion Fujioka Eri of Japan in the final.

"Eri was quicker and more aggressive than Sandra," national coach Willem Mantiri said.

Sandra admitted that she was a class below her opponent. "That was the first time I have met her. I had no idea how to neutralize her attacks," said Sandra, who will celebrate her 27th birthday on Dec. 28.

Controversial refereeing again cost Indonesia the chance of another gold medal when Nilawati Daud lost to eventual champion Lee Wan Yu of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.

Nilawati had her commanding 2-0 lead canceled out after she received two warnings for stepping over the touchline in the 60- kilogram division duel. The karatekas were tied at 2-2 after normal time.

Nilwati landed an obviously clean punch on Lee's breast during the extra time, but one of the judges, Van Vin Dong of Vietnam, raised a red flag to indicate that the punch was illegal. The other two judges abstained, but referee Ang Lae Hong of Malaysia decided to award Lee the victory.

Lee did not make any serious attacks, but defended strongly throughout the fight.

An Indonesian referee expressed his disappointment with Ang's controversial decision.

"He has never been fair to Indonesian karatekas. To speak frankly, Nila deserved the gold medal because she landed a legal punch. By contrast, Lee only managed to parry and did not launch any attacks," he said.

Indonesia's deputy chef de mission Subardi Suar, who watched the match, refused to file an appeal.

Nilawati agreed with Subardi, but was obviously very disappointed with the result. "I tried my best, but the referee ruled against me. I must accept it," she said.

She had to be content with a bronze, meaning that she missed out on the target of winning gold which was set for her by the National Sports Council.

Kazakhstan's Natalya Solodilova also fell victim to questionable refereeing during her surprise quarterfinal loss to Malaysian Premila Subramaniam.

Solodilova, who is the reining Asian champion in the over-60 kilogram division, had three strikes declared invalid by the referee. Kazakhstan officials protested, but to no avail. (yan)