Three golds in tae kwon do doable for RI
Three golds in tae kwon do doable for RI
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Tae kwon do is focusing on a realistic target of three golds
at the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines next
month -- one better than its gold haul in Hanoi two years ago.
"Our coach said that it would be good if we could win three
golds in the SEA Games," said tae kwon do athlete Ronny
Kusdiantoro last week. "The toughest competitors will be Vietnam
and Thailand."
National tae kwon do athletes pocketed two golds, five silver
and two bronze in 2003 in Hanoi, and their results have been
respectable since then.
In the seventh LG ASEAN Tae kwon do Championship last year,
Indonesia took two golds, compared to Vietnam's 12. Malaysia and
Philippines seized one gold respectively (Thailand did not
participate in the event).
In the Islamic Solidarity Games in April, tae kwon do athletes
saved face for Indonesia by taking a gold, silver and bronze.
Late last month, women's tae kwon do athletes also contributed
one gold and two bronze to the Indonesian medal tally from the
Women Muslim Games in Iran.
However, they failed to collect any medals at the Universiade
in Izmir, Turkey.
Indonesian Tae kwon do Association (PB TI) chairman Suharto
has repeatedly stated that his athletes must strive to do better
than in Hanoi when they compete in Cebu City.
"In the 2005 SEA Games, we want to win as many medals as in
2003, but of course we want to be better," he said.
Ronny said the gold target was realistic with the talents of
veteran athletes such as Olympian Satryo Rahadani, Derry
Dharmansyah Maulana and Basuki Nugroho.
"I will also do my best to win gold in the fin division," he
said.
Satisfactory results in international competition have boosted
the confidence of the athletes, he added.
In the men's division, Ronny is joined by Satryo, Taufik
Krisna, Derry, Basuki, Rosandi, Muhammad Abubakar and Teguh
Waskito.
In the women's class, 2003 world flyweight champion Juana
Wangsa Putri heads the group of Fransisca Valentina, Martina
Navratilova, Voppy Trisnawanty, Iin Retno Famula, Rahadewi Neta
and Amalia Kurniasih.