RI keeps bridge Olympiad hopes alive

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia rested its trump cards, Henky Lasut and Eddy Manoppo, but remained too strong for lowly Bangladesh in the 23rd round of the Olympics of Bridge on Rodos Island, Greece on Friday.

Second-choice pairings of Giovanni Watulingas/Sance Penelewen and Denny Sacul/Franky Karwur routed the Bangladeshis 25-5 to put Indonesia back on track with 442.5 victory points.

With 13 matches remaining, the Indonesians were third behind Group A leader Poland, which had collected 457 points, and defending champion France, with 446.

"The time has come for us to win the Olympics. Our games have been great so far," Indonesian team deputy manager Frans Waleleng was quoted by Antara as saying.

Frans said Pakistan, Spain and Canada might pose a hurdle to Indonesia's bid of reaching the quarterfinals. Four teams in each group will make it to the quarterfinals.

However, Indonesia saw a difficult path ahead to reach the quarterfinals in the women's competition. The Indonesian women dropped one place to 15th in Group A with 200 points after 14 of 20 games Friday. They blanked the Philippines 25-0 in the 12th session, but went down 9-21 to Hong Kong in the next match.

China set the pace with 294 points, followed by Germany, with 276, and the Netherlands, with 273.

A number of Indonesian players and officials were reportedly battling with flu due to strong winds and a freezing climate, which was estimated at seven degrees Centigrade. (amd)