S. Kalimantan inches closer to diving title

S. Kalimantan inches closer to diving title

JAKARTA (JP): Husaini Noor and Dwi Mariastuti joined forces to
assure South Kalimantan of the overall title in the national
diving championships yesterday.

With just four events remaining in the final day today, South
Kalimantan took an assailable lead in the medal race with nine
golds, eight silvers and three bronzes. Closest rival, Central
Java, lies a distant second with three golds and two silvers.

Husaini and Mariastuti, both regular backbones of Indonesia's
Southeast Asian Games, lived up to their status as the country's
best divers when they shared the glory in the platform events.

Husaini, 17, scored his career best score of 596.70 to win the
men's open platform gold medal. The victory gives the 17-year-old
student his fifth gold of the competition, the most outstanding
medal collection of the four-day championships.

"It's a deserving outcome of a long training program. The
success gives me great confidence to perform better during the
SEA Games in December," Husaini said. He added that he is eying
two gold medals in platform and springboard in the upcoming SEA
Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The women's open platform gold medal went to old-crack
Mariastuti, who has donned the national colors in international
events for a record 14 years. She scored 397.05, to best her
stiffest rival and junior teammate Nani Suryani Wulansari of
Central Java by 22.80 points.

Nani made up for her loss with a gold in the platform Age
Group A with 352.65 points. "I feel great, but I think I need
more lessons to beat my seasoned teammate," Nani, who won a
bronze in the 1993 SEA Games, said.

East Java won its first gold medal of the championships
through Yulius Eko who triumphed in the men's springboard. M.
Hasrullah of South Kalimantan took the silver, with Dedi Ibrahim
awarded the bronze. (amd)