RI off to flying start at Games
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)
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