Thai cyclists pedal to SEAG golden opener
Thai cyclists pedal to SEAG golden opener
By Dwiatmanta
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (JP): Thailand's female cyclist Chalerm Chamchun upset favorite Nurhayati of Indonesia to win the first gold medal of the 18th Southeast Asian Games here yesterday.
It was a glorious moment for the host team as Suphat Sriwasai completed a double in the men's 50-kilometer individual time trial race, also at the expense of Indonesia.
The Philippines added to Indonesia's woes in the 1km time trial later in the afternoon through Joselito Santos. Indonesia had to be content with its third cycling silver from Herijanto Setiawan.
Chalerm pedaled her way to the women's 25-kilometer individual time trial victory in a convincing time of 36 minutes and 23.848 seconds. Three-time SEA Games winner Nurhayati clocked 1:0.533 slower than the spirited Thai for the silver. The bronze went to Nurhayati's sister, Nuraini, who managed only 39:03.905 in the Games medal race opener.
The 25-year-old Thai took full advantage of her first start with a powerful ride. She completed the first 12.5 kilometers in 17:11.97 to win her first SEA Games victory.
"It's my happiest day ever. I have been waiting for such a triumphant day for eight years," an elated Chalerm said. She needed an infusion after the race due to dehydration, but her brilliant effort will earn her 100,000 baht (US$4,170) from the Thai Cycling Association.
The Union of Cycling International decided last year to lengthen the distance of the women's individual time trial to 25 kilometers, saying that women's cyclists had vastly improved.
Chalerm set her best time of 38:50 in the extended race during her practices prior to the Games.
The Thai team manager, Preeda Chullamontho, said the golden double did not surprise him at all. "We set our sights on winning those medals to boost our bid for the overall title," he said.
"Our cyclists are about in the same league as Indonesia," he said.
A huge number of home fans joined a cheerful celebration even before the official results were released. It took the organizers more than 20 minutes to clarify Nurhayati's record.
The Indonesian, starting from the ninth grid, passed two of her rivals in the final 12.5 kilometers, but the announcement of Nurhayati's official mark came after that of the rear cyclist.
Complaint
"There might have been an electronic problem when we were processing the results of the race," an official said.
Indonesian coach Puspita Mustika Adya said Nurhayati had done her best and should have taken the top honor. "But there are many non-technical matters we could not cope with," the coach complained.
Puspita refused to elaborate, but later claimed that the host team had unfairly snatched the men's 50km race gold medal. "A policeman nabbed me when I was recording the wrongdoings with my handy video camera," Puspita said.
Susanto Tonton finished 2:42.04 behind Thailand's Suphat, who clocked 1:04:39.47 to give Indonesia its second silver of the day. Malaysian Kumaresan Muruyaga was third with 1:07:47.218.
Indonesia's Australian coach, John Murray, played down the cheating that occurred during the races. "As far as I see, the Thais did well today," he said.
Chef de mission of the Indonesian team, Arie Sudewo, who watched the morning races with the other top officials of the National Sports Council, suggested that the Indonesian cycling team refrain from filing any charges against the host.
"They could file a lawsuit for defamation against us if we do not have enough proof. It would be better if we concentrated on the remaining events," he said.