West Java strikes double in tae kwon do

West Java strikes double in tae kwon do

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post/Palembang

Utami Dewi and Bayu Firmansyah gave West Java two golds while
Jakarta and Central Java took one apiece on the opening day of
taekwondo competition at the National Games here on Friday.

Utami stunned favorite Rahadewinata of East Java with a
convincing 9-4 win in the women's flyweight bout to chalk up her
first win in three meetings between the two.

"Having lost twice to Rahadewinata I was determined I had to
win in the third. I learned a lot from the previous matches. I
studied further her style as well as my own mistakes through
video.

"Entering the match, I felt confident today. I kept
concentration and held on to win," Utami told reporters at the
end of the match.

In the match, Utami proved the better side, taking charge of
her opponent right from the start. She pulled ahead to 5-0, then
8-1, before finally wrapping the match up with a 9-4 victory.

Rahadewinata's coach Stefanus Sumartono looked disappointed,
saying that Rahadewinata seemed too cautious.

"I told her not to hesitate to attack, but she just could not
do it," Sumartono said.

Mayvina Ratna Sari of Riau and Yulia Teterissa of Maluku won
bronze.

In the other West Java-East Java tussle, Bayu launched a last-
minute attack to defeat Joko Arianto 4-3 in a tight men's
middleweight bout.

Bayu was still trailing 3-2 until in the last minute when he
sent a kick to Joko's head to overhaul the deficit.

"It was a tough bout. I had difficulty getting points from
kicking his body. Thus my coach told me to attack Joko's head.
The strategy worked and I won," he said.

It was Bayu's second gold in the back-to-back Games, following
his victory in the welterweight class in 2000.

Yudhi Dimyati of Banten and Irwansyah of North Sumatra took
the bronze.

In other bouts, Vinca Maharsi of Central Java won the women's
middleweight after defeating Wynanda of Jakarta 4-0 in the final.
Isti Wantini of Riau and Christina Oktols of Maluku won the
bronze.

Jimmy Indra won the men's flyweight gold for Jakarta with a
slight 4-3 win over West Java's Anugrah. The bronze went to Husni
Afriansyah of South Sumatra and Saint B. Mansnandi of Papua.