Rumini ends Indonesia's athletics drought
Rumini ends Indonesia's athletics drought
By Dwiatmanto
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (JP): Rumini Sudragni stole the thunder yesterday in the women's 10,000-meter to give Indonesia its first track and field gold at the 18th Southeast Asian Games.
A barefoot Rumini clocked a new meet record of 35 minutes and 21.43 seconds to shave 7.4 seconds off the four-year-old mark set by Mar Mar Min of Myanmar in Kuala Lumpur. Not only did heptathlon specialist Rumini beat the record, she also stunned her heavyweight compatriot Tri Asih Handayani.
Handayani, the Asian Championships double silver medalist in 5,000 and 10,000, finished seventh with a lackluster time of 40:09.31.
Handayani also flopped in her ambitious 1,500 effort, which she ran shortly before the 10,000-meter event. She came in fourth, almost 10 seconds behind triumphant Khin Khin Thwe of Myanmar.
The second day of track and field competition was more balanced than Sunday's edition, with Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and host Thailand sharing the pride.
A total of three meet records were broken yesterday, bringing the total number of SEA Games records to six.
Singapore's Wong Tuck Yim and Noohan Rajo joined Rumini on the record breaker's list. Wong improved his two-year-old discus throw mark by 0.86 meters, while Rajo clocked 43:34.01 in the 10,000m walk to shave one minute 24.38 seconds off the old record set by predecessor Karunanithi in 1991.
Rumini, whose running skills were nurtured in her hilly hometown of Salatiga, Central Java, about 500 kilometers east of Jakarta, quickly pulled ahead. She burst almost half a lap ahead of closest rival Pa Pa of Myanmar before crossing the finish line.
Pa Pa clocked 35:57.43 for the silver, with Yvonne Tan Danson third at 36:27.39.
"I just remember what my father asked me before I left Indonesia for the Games. He urged me to run as fast as I could," Rumini said in a post-match press conference.
When asked about her teammate Handayani, Rumini said the Asian Championships runner-up remains the best runner in middle- distance races. "My friend was too tired after running in the 1,500m. That's why she lost," Rumini said.
Winning streak
Thailand, meanwhile, continued its gold medal winning streak to keep on top of the medal race. Suthon Chartwadee gave the host team the first gold of the day when she threw 50.02 meters in the javelin event, with Sukhon Piromkloy second with 49.80 meters. Taty Ratnaingsih of Indonesia won the silver medal with a 47.26- meter heave.
In the afternoon session, Thailand repeated a one-two showing as Reanchai Seehawong and Aktawat Sakulchan finished first and second respectively in men's 200m.
Aktawat is now eying the 100m title after his comfortable time of 20.96 yesterday. "With Mardi Lestari of Indonesia missing from the 100m list, my chance is almost 100 percent," Aktawat said.
The Thais benefited from a leg injury which hit Malaysian favorite Watson Nyambek. They won their respective heats and kept their explosive stride in the final. Another Malaysian, Ibrahim Azmi, finished third for the bronze.
In the women's 200m, Elma Muros of the Philippines successfully filled the shoes of Lydia de Vega. Muros won her second gold of the meet in 24.00, quite slower than compatriot de Vega's two-year-old mark.
"It's a satisfying outcome, considering that it was my first appearance in 200m," said Muros, who defended her long jump title on Sunday.
"My goal was to win one gold medal and now I have two," said a beaming Muros, who Sunday took the long jump, her speciality.
She added that she had been confident of victory in the 200- meters from the start and never felt pushed during the race.
Morgan Rajoo of Malaysia finished the men's 10,000-meter walk in 43:34.01, shaving more than a minute off the old record of 45:19.01. Myint Htay of Burma also beat that time, winning the silver in 43:42.24, as did Saravanan Govindasamy of Malaysia, who took the bronze in 43:46.01.