Timy, Devota keep up winning streak
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Ni Putu Timy Yudhani and Devota Rahawarin sealed their perfect run in the women's 2005 LA Menthol beach volleyball championship on Sunday, while Andy Ardiansyah and Supriyadi stamped their authority among national men's players.
The national number one women defeated Kasinee Godtalang and Arawan Tongkamnak of Thailand 21-10, 21-17 in the final at Plaza Senayan parking lot in South Jakarta, rounding out their titles from Semarang, Yogyakarta and Semarang in the four-leg series.
"We are happy that we have made it four out of four. We deserved it after all we did before the championship," Timy, 29, said.
She added that the team focused on keeping unforced errors to a minimum in the final.
Her younger partner Devota said she was determined to keep up their perfect showing despite bouts of nervy play in other matches.
"I enjoyed the match. I wasn't nervous because we already knew their game," the 22 year old said.
The Indonesians defeated the Thai number three pairing in two previous encounters in the series, including the Semarang final.
National number two pairing Andy and Supriyadi, who lost in the previous leg in Surabaya on July 31 to Agus Salim and Koko Prasetyo, regained their supremacy over the national number ones with their 21-18, 21-18 victory.
"We are happy that we are back in winning form over Agus and Koko. We learned a lot from the defeat in Surabaya," Supriyadi said.
"We pinpointed our mistakes, becoming more alert at the back while trying to gain space at the net."
The Indonesian pairs contested all four finals, with Andy and Supriyadi triumphing in Semarang, Yogyakarta and Jakarta over their higher ranked opponents.
With only one team allowed from each country for the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in November, national selectors have the unenviable task of picking between the pairs to compete in Bacolod City in the Philippines.
If selected, Agus and Koko would be vying for a hat trick of SEA Games golds after winning in 2001 and 2003.
In other action on Sunday, Reza Assari Naeini and Rachman Raoufi of Iran defeated Borworn Y. and Sonthi B. of Thailand 18- 21, 22-20, 10-15 to take the third place honors.
Engel Bertha Kaize, who is a former partner of Timy, and Ninik Nuraida of Jakarta, finished third in the women's event by overcoming Gian Indri and Minarni of West Kalimantan 9-21, 21-17, 15-2.