RI boxers fail in pre-Olympics bouts

JAKARTA (JP): Two more Indonesian boxers were abruptly defeated in the second match of the pre-qualifying round for the 2000 Olympic Games at Tae Jeon City in South Korea on Saturday.

Suwardoyo, competing in the flyweight division, and Willem Papilaya (light middleweight) trailed the earlier downfalls for teammates Marwan Muling (lightweight) and Steve Binalay (light welterweight) who both lost on points in the opening of the qualifying round.

Suwardoyo bowed out with an RSC (referee sports contest) to Jumadilov Bulat of Kazakhstan while Willem, who was expected to earn a berth for the Olympics, was routed by Thai's Tongburan Pornchai 5-0.

National boxing coach Frans V. B. said that Willem had narrowed his chances for the Olympics because all the boxers who competed in South Korea were better prepared.

Frans said that Pornchai was too tough for Willem, that he nullified the Ambonese. "Willem should have earned points from his attacks but in fact he didn't. I don't know why the result turned out this way," Frans was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said Suwardoyo, who won his first match on Thursday, was knocked out in the first round.

"Suwardoyo's jaw was exposed and attacked during the first round until he fell onto the canvass. His match was scheduled for four rounds," he said, adding that Bulat, who was the gold medalist of the 1999 World Boxing Championship in Houston, Texas, was no match to Suwardoyo.

Frans admitted that Suwardoyo, Marwan Muling and Steve Binalay were newcomers to the competition.

"For Marwan Muling and Steve Binalay, who had failed before Suwardoyo, this championship was their first international experience," he said. (ivy)