Temmy Kusuma quashes South Kalimantan spree

JAKARTA (JP): Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champion Temmy Kusuma spoiled South Kalimantan's conquering run in the national diving championships when he handed Husaini Noor his first defeat on Saturday.

Temmy of Jakarta outclassed Husaini, his fellow national diver groomed for the 18th SEA Games in December, in his favorite springboard event with 585.05, his best mark of the year, to end Husaini's golden spree at the four-day competition.

Husaini just finished second with 572.85 for his first silver. The South Kalimantan diver produced a haul of five gold medals before he conceded the loss to the springboard specialist. Another SEA Games regular, Bahriansyah of South Kalimantan, took the bronze.

However, no one at the eight-team four-day event could stop mighty South Kalimantan from winning the overall title. The national diving powerhouse came out as the runaway leader with 10 golds, nine silvers and four bronzes. Its closest rival Central Java managed only to collect three golds and three silvers.

"I anticipated earlier that Temmy would be my toughest rival in springboard," said 17-year-old Husaini, who beat Temmy in the one-meter board event on the opening day on Wednesday. Temmy gave his team its only gold medal of the championships.

Another SEA Games champion Dwi Mariastuti of South Kalimantan exploited her experience to maintain her winning streak over her junior Nani Suryani Wulansari of Central Java in the women's springboard.

SEA Games diving queen Mariastuti scored it 486.40 to take a 10-point margin over Nani, who conceded her third defeat to her senior teammate in as many events at the championships.

The four-day competition served also as the first proving ground for the national divers undergoing a centralized training session for the Dec. 9-17 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

"Not bad. Some of the divers have performed commendably," national coach Zhong Shao Zhen of China said. The 1974 Asian Games silver medalist was hired by the Indonesian Swimming Association for the SEA Games.

Zhong said she would bring her eight-strong team to her home soil, Guang Zhou, for a three-week stint in August. Some of the national divers will enter the World Junior Diving Championships in Guang Zhou.

"Indonesia remains the best diving power in Southeast Asia, thanks to its hard working athletes," said Zhong. (amd)