Some athletes happy despite Indonesia's loss
Some athletes happy despite Indonesia's loss
JAKARTA (JP): There was both laughter and tears on the part of athletes from 10 countries during the 18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last week.
Thailand's athletes are no doubt very happy about their success in dominating most sports during the Games and in dethroning previous overall champion Indonesia.
As of Saturday evening, Thailand had collected 143 gold, 93 silver and 89 bronze medals, leaving arch rival Indonesia far behind with only 76 golds, 61 silvers and 75 bronzes.
Thailand's comprehensive preparation of its athletes surprised most participants in the Games.
Being forced to accept defeat was a sad turn of events for the Indonesian contingent.
But not all the Indonesian athletes are sad. Those who earned gold medals are happy, having been promised a Rp 25-million (US$10,800) bonus by the National Sports Council.
"I'll give my bonus to my parents so they can go on a pilgrimage to Mecca," said Sunaryo, a weightlifter who shattered the Games record in the clean-and-jerk event with a lift of 185 kilograms. The old mark belonged to Ramon Solis of the Philippines. Sunaryo also set a new total record of 330kg.
The 23-year-old from Jambi province said he was very happy to have gained two new records and to won two gold medals for Indonesia.
On the other side, Supeni and Sriyani, who failed to earn gold medals in weightlifting, could not hide their sadness. Their failure to gain golds means they will not receive the bonus.
"I don't know why but I was nervous during the match," Sriyani said. "I have the speed and power but I can't deal with my emotion."
According to Sriyani, the cause of her emotional difficulties was not caused by Thailand's supporters but by someone within the Indonesian contingent. However, she declined to elaborate.
Sriyani said that, just before her turn to lift the barbel in the Games, she was told by an official that she would not be able to perform her best. "This made me feel down," she said.
Another lifter in the 91-kg class, Ferry Ardiatos, noted that he would not receive the bonus of Rp 25 million, since he only managed to win a silver.
"I'll only receive Rp2 million (US$860) for the silver medal," he said gloomily.
"Maybe luck has not been on my side in this SEA Games. I hope in the 19th SEA Games in Jakarta in 1997, I'll be luckier," said the athlete, who suffered an injury before the start of the Games.
Injury
It was the second catastrophe for Ferry after his participation in the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore, where he was also injured.
According to Ferry, the month-long injury meant that he his preparation was inadequate.
Weightlifting coach Madek Kasman,said Ferry incurred an injury to his right foot but had had to bear the pain and keep competing.
Meanwhile, weightlifter Erwin Abdullan from South Sulawesi could not hold back his tears after failing to contribute a gold medal.
Among the five lifters in the men's division, Erwin was the only one who did not manage to win a gold medal.
Weightlifting team manager Joko Pramono had to calm down his athlete.
Antara reported that most of the Indonesian athletes, particularly in weightlifting, are from poor families.
Now that the Games are over, the sports council will be busy distributing the bonuses to more than 50 athletes. It appears that those athletes who collected more than one gold medal will receive a double bonus. (05)