RI clinches two golds in karate
The Jakarta Post, Hanoi,
The Indonesian karate team elevated its performance to win two gold medals as the Vietnamese juggernauts continued to level the competition, claiming five of eight possible golds at Gia Lam Gymnasium on Sunday.
Hasan Basri defended his gold medal with a 1-0 victory over Malaysian Lim Yoke Wai in the men's 65 kilogram individual kumite, but the other two finalists ended up losing to their Vietnamese opponents yet again. Hasan defeated Malaysian Kong Tai Moon in Kuala Lumpur to claim the gold in the 2001 SEA Games.
Umar Syarif proved a Goliath, and pounded final opponent Jose Mari of the Philippines in a 5-0 victory in the men's over-80 kg category.
In the women's 60 kg, Puspa Meonk was beaten 0-1 by Ha Kieu Trang of Vietnam, and Novilus Tedius Yoku was a 3-4 loser to Le Hai Bang also from Vietnam in the men's 75 kg.
Three bronzes were collected through Christo Mondulu in the men's 80 kg, I Nyoman Sumayasa in the men's individual kata and Maya Putranti in the women's over-60 kg.
Sunday's performance was a relief for the national squad, as a day earlier the karatekas ended their performances truly karate, or empty-handed.
Even with the achievements, team manager Ahmad Boedoe rued the wins that eluded the two other finalists.
"It's too bad that Yoku and Puspa were unlucky. They let up in the final minutes that cost them the victories," he said.
Boedoe saw that the judging of the match between Yoku and Le went against Indonesia, but was calm compared to Saturday when Indonesia refused to continue a match due to a dissatisfactory ruling in the men's kumite team contest.
"The referee vehemently ruled that Yoku scored a point in the last three seconds, but he was up against two judges," he said.
Boedoe believes Indonesia has good prospects in four of the five remaining karate class matches.
Vietnam took another five golds for a total cache of 11, while the Philippines grabbed the remaining gold on the day.
Two years ago, Indonesia finished second overall with four golds, six silvers and eight bronzes. Malaysia took the top slot with nine golds, three silvers and six bronzes.