Sarmunah dedicates gold medals to family, country

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): There is no bigger pressure for double gold medalist Sarmunah at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games than leaving her beloved family for such a long time.

Apart from her country, family means everything for the 33- year-old athlete, so much so that she has dedicated her victories to those closest to her, her husband and son, back in Jakarta.

"I dedicate the gold medals to my country and family. The achievement proved that my presence here, with all my sacrifices, has not been useless," Sarmunah told reporters while waiting for a doping-test after winning both medals.

Sarmunah grabbed both the team and individual titles in the women's 75-target trap events on Saturday, the first golds on offer at the 21st SEA Games.

"I always keep photographs of my family with me to ease my homesickness. It's impossible to bring my child here as it would only distract me," she said.

An Army second lieutenant serving at Indonesian Army Headquarters, Sarmunah won the team event together with Sylvia Silimang and Supadmi with a new meet record of 188 points.

Born in Surabaya on May 28, 1968, Sarmunah began to learn target shooting in 1992 when she passed the selection held by the Indonesian Target Shooting and Hunting Association (Perbakin) which was searching for talent among servicemen and women. Sarmunah was then an Army sergeant, so were her two teammates.

"We have been together since our early days in the Army in early 90s. So I know them very well," she said of the solid teamwork that also earned Indonesia a silver in the 1998 Asian Games.

The three were in the same class at Army Cadet School.

At the Chiang Mai 1995 SEA Games in Thailand, the team grabbed the double trap gold medals. But Sarmunah skipped the Jakarta 1997 SEA Games because she was giving birth to her son, Louigi Rahmat Bramantya Moriza. She is married to Second Lieutenant Leoris Yunanta who is serving in the Jakarta Military Command.

Just for the sake of curiosity, Louigi is the brand name of Sarmunah's shotgun.

Sarmunah was back in business at the 1999 SEA Games in Bandar Seri Begawan, winning the double trap and trap individual gold medals when the trap event was making its SEA Games debut.

"I don't know whether this will be my last SEA Games or not. But there are several hopes in young shooters such as Rina and Titin who are both policewomen," she said.

During the competition on Saturday, Sarmunah displayed her maturity when she could quickly regain her concentration after the machine did not work properly.

"It is common and happens everywhere. The most important thing is you have to quickly get your concentration back and not get distracted," she said. (nvn)