Team effort for Samai's ride to gold
Team effort for Samai's ride to gold
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Manila
Samai got the gold for winning the criterium race at Rizal Memorial Park on Sunday, but he gave credit where it was due.
The 27-year-old Surabayan finished with 22 points, thanks to a strong supporting role from teammates Tonton Susanto and Ryan Ariehan who managed to keep his rivals at bay.
Manan Anur of Malaysia was second with 18 points and Thailand's Youthaporn Hinthao third with 15 points.
"It's all due to the clever support of Tonton and Ariehan. They were checking the other riders from the start up to the finish. They worked hard for me. It was truly remarkable cooperation from both," said Samai, a silver medalist in the road race earlier in the week.
Sunday' team's pre-race strategy -- for 32-year-old Tonton and Ryan to work together to help Samai gain the gold -- went off without a hitch.
The criterium consisted of 40 circuits of the 1.6 kilometer park, adjacent to Quirino Grandstand, the site for the opening and closing ceremonies. On every four laps, the competitors were required to sprint, and earned points during the course of the ride.
With the able backing of his teammates, it was mostly smooth going for Samai, who took the lead on the first lap from the other competitors representing seven of the 11 countries in the Games.
Manan came close to overtaking Samai during the sixth and seventh laps but the Indonesian cyclist managed to cling on a two-point buffer, with Tonton and Ryan doing their part to distract the Malaysian.
On the last lap, Manan again threatened to move in on Samai, but he averted the danger and rode home for victory
"What a close race. Again, thanks to Tonton and Ryan. Their help made it impossible for the Malaysian rider to take control," he said.
It was a repeat of the golden performance from Samai in the 2001 SEA Games in Malaysia -- where he brought home a gold from in sprint and silver in track -- but he had never taken the top honors in criterium.
"He was impressive during the Tour d'East Java and Tour de West Java, so we enlisted him for the criterium competition," team manager Darmawan Prijo Susilo said.
After winning the criterium at both meets, Samai headed to Australia for training before taking part in the China Tour. He entered the national training camp two month before the SEA Games began last Sunday.
Chairman of the National Sports Council Agum Gumelar, who has had little to cheer about at this Games, with Indonesia likely to finish out of the top three for the first time in its history when they end on Monday, hugged and kissed the rider after the race, Antara news service reported.
The poor overall performance of Indonesia at the Games was also on the mind of the new gold medalist.
"I'm proud to have won gold for Indonesia. But I am concerned about Indonesia's position now. It's out of the three," said Samai.