RI tae kwon do athletes still chasing Vietnam

RI tae kwon do athletes still chasing Vietnam

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Indonesian woman tae won do athlete Amalia Kurniasih bowed on
the mat, appearing relieved and jubilant at her hard-earned
victory over favorite M. Maria Estela B. of the Philippines.

Amalia won the heavyweight final on Sunday at the two-day 7th
LG ASEAN Tae Kwon Do Championship in Yogyakarta.

Following the match, the fighter was immediately mobbed by
fellow athletes, fans and team officials who rushed onto the mat
to share the rare Indonesian victory in a tournament that was
dominated by Vietnam.

Amalia contributed one of only two golds for the host country,
preventing an outright humiliation on home turf; the other was
claimed by men's bantamweight athlete Derry Darmansyah.

The Vietnamese delegation put on a mighty show, grabbing a
dozen of the 16 gold medals on offer and leaving not only
Indonesia, but also the Philippines and Malaysia to mull future
strategies in overcoming their tough rival.

The Philippines and Malaysia took one gold each, while
Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore and Timor Leste came up empty.

While Thailand would have been a serious contender, it had
opted out of the championship, along with Laos and Brunei
Darussalam.

Indonesia fielded 30 fighters in the biennial championship,
with seven athletes making it to the finals. However, only two of
them emerged triumphant against their foes, with the rest falling
apart, mostly at the hands of Vietnamese fighters.

The absence of top fighters Satrio Rahardani and Juana Wangsa
Putri, who bowed out due to illness, may have also contributed to
Indonesia's poor medal tally.

The Indonesian Tae Kwon Do Association (TI), however, accepted
the overall result, saying that Vietnam had sent their best.

Indonesian head coach Oh Il-nam asserted that the two golds
were a fair reflection of the athletes' preparation for the
tournament, which was organized by their respective provinces. In
addition, he suggested that the Ramadhan fasting month and Idul
Fitri may have influenced their training.

"Besides, Indonesian fighters still have a habit of practicing
only when they are up for a competition instead of keeping to a
daily workout," he said.

Philippines' team manager Stephen Estanislao Artemio Fernandez
was disappointed with the delegation's single gold medal, but
said the team was upbeat about future challenges.

"Next year, we will form a new team with more experienced
athletes to provide a more serious challenge to Vietnam in the
SEA Games," he said, referring to the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA)
Games, which will be hosted by the Philippines.

The SEA Games will feature about 30 events, including tae kwon
do.

"We also plan to practice in Korea for about a month,"
Fernandez said.

Indonesia will also turn to Korea, tae kwon do's country of
origin, in pursuit of a more organized training regime.

"We will draw up a plan for the athletes to attend a training
camp in (South) Korea ... therefore, we are still optimistic
about our chances for winning golds at the SEA Games."

Vietnam head coach Nguyen Dang Khanh attributed the team's
success to their hard work, including a training camp in Iran.

"We have many national tae kwon do competitions. This is to
ensure that the fighters hone their skills constantly," Khanh
said.

The Vietnamese team will also be sending their athletes to
South Korea ahead of the next SEA Games.

"We aim to win many golds at the SEA Games and also at the
ASEAN Games," he said. The ASEAN Games 2006 will be hosted by
Qatar.