Thais accuse Indonesia of bribing judges
Thais accuse Indonesia of bribing judges
By Budiman Moerdijat
JAKARTA (JP): Allegations of bribery rocked the last day of
the taekwondo competition yesterday with the Thais accusing the
Indonesians of paying off the judges.
The trouble flared after host competitor Umi Alfiah defeated
Thailand's defending champion Usa Sinlapajarn 8-7 in the women's
bantamweight division.
Thai coach Pong Kasearn said: "I was totally dissatisfied with
the judges, they gave very bad decisions. I believe the
Indonesian team officials have been paying them off."
He refused to accept the Indonesian team's penant, returning
it to the judges table, and Usa, who broke down in tears after
the bout, refused to shake hands with Uni and went straight to
the stands.
The general secretary of the Indonesian Taekwondo Association,
Zarkasih Hami, denied the charge that his team had orchestrated
the result. He said it was common for judges and coaches to have
different opinions on the outcome of matches.
"I think the judges made a fair judgement; the losing party
usually gets emotional in this kind of situation."
Umi's victory was sweet revenge for her defeat two years ago
in the Chiang Mai Games when Usa defeated her in the semifinals
on her way to the gold.
It was Indonesia's sixth gold of the competition, exceeding
the team's pre-Games target of five.
Umi and Silapajarn both started the match cautiously, keeping
a noticeable distance from each other. At the end of the first
round the 23-year-old Umi was 3-2 ahead.
In the second round, she added three more points while Usa was
only able to add one.
In the final round Usa staged a major recovery, winning it 4-
1. But it was too little too late and Umi was awarded the match.
"I just followed my coach's instructions," Umi said.
The other events passed off peacefully, with Vietnam's Thong
Ho Nhat beating Malaysia's Teck Guang Ling in the male
bantamweight final; Nga Nguyeni Thi Kim of Vietnam defeating
Thailand's Aripongsa Kakanumporn in the women's welterweight
class; and the Philippines' Taraya Alvin beating Robert of
Indonesia in the male welterweight final.
Indonesia's six golds left it atop the final taekwondo medal
tally. The Philippines came second with 4 gold medals, followed
by Vietnam (3), Thailand (2) and Malaysia (1).
The chairman of the Indonesian Taekwando Association, Maj.
Gen. Suharto , who is also the Marines Corps commander, said he
was satisfied with the Indonesian team's
"They have been demonstrating their best form and this year is
better than the four gold medals in Chiang Mai," he said, adding
that the athletes would now focus on world championships next
month in Hongkong.