RI off to flying start at Games

Mon, 13 Oct 1997, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia struck most of the gold medals on
offer on the first official day of competition in the 19th
Southeast Asian Games yesterday, producing a clean sweep in three
sports but failing to make a splash in the pool.

As the medal race ceased for the night, Indonesia's national
anthem had been played 16 times. The host had also collected two
silvers and six bronzes.

Main rival Thailand was second in the provisional medals tally
with six golds, six silvers and 10 bronzes, followed by the
Philippines which took four golds, six silvers and six bronzes.

Indonesia confirmed its early domination with seven new Games
records, all of them in weightlifting. Women's lifter Winarni
could have carved out history with a world record-breaking lift
in the 50 kilogram division, if she had turned up on time for her
third and final effort.

"We are disappointed because we could not hear the third call
as it was not very clear," a dejected Indonesian weightlifting
team manager A.M. Sampurna said.

Another meet record was shattered in the pool when the
Philippine 200 meter breaststroke specialist Raymond Papa clocked
two minutes and 0.96 second to renew his own best time of 2:03.09
he set in the previous games in Chiang Mai two years ago.

Indonesia had earlier received a major boost in its bid to
regain the region's sports supremacy by winning the Games' first
gold medal, courtesy of Armin who finished first in the 1,000
meter kayak race at Jatiluhur reservoir in West Java, some 75
kilometers east of here.

Kayaking and canoeing were Indonesia's best sports of the day.
Host athletes made a clean sweep of the six golds at stake,,
keeping it on target to seize all the 12 golds on offer.

Cycling was the other sport Indonesia dominated, taking two
golds out of two through road race veterans Nurhayati and Tonton
Susanto, who triumphed in the women's 20 kilometer Individual
Time Trial and 40 kilometer Individual Time Trial respectively.

It was sweet revenge for 27-year-old Nurhayati who went down
to Thai rival Chaleam Chamchun in the previous Games two years
ago. Nurhayati is eying five golds this time round.

Swimming was the only sport beyond Indonesia's control, as it
managed only three silvers and three bronzes. Thailand was in the
right lane en route to retaining its top billing in the pool with
four golds.

Singapore's Josceline Yeo stole the limelight, staving off
Indonesia's Chaterine Surya's stiff opposition on her way to two
golds despite sub-par performances.

Yeo swam two minutes, 19.23 seconds in the 200 meter
individual medley, just two hundredths of a second away from her
Games record. Two-time SEA Games best female athlete, Yeo clocked
57.89 seconds in the 100 meter freestyle to keep her own mark of
57.27 intact.

The Games was tarnished with a quarrel over a result that
allowed Malaysia and the Philippines to share the laurels in the
women's artistic gymnastics.

Indonesia enjoyed a last laugh of the day as its soccer team
booked a place in the semifinals as Group B leader after a
lackluster 2-0 win over the pointless Philippines which has one
game remaining.

The Games today offer 44 gold medals, with track and field
expected to make the headline, with seven golds at stake. (team)