Wushu fighter Susyana owes it to father for SEA Games laurel
Wushu fighter Susyana owes it to father for SEA Games laurel
KUALA LUMPUR (JP): The well-known idiom "Like father like son"
has found a new pretext for female wushu fighter Susyana, who
attributes part of her success at the Kuala Lumpur 2001 Southeast
Asian (SEA) Games to her childhood training imposed on her by her
father, former national athlete in the sport, Rahmat Setiadi.
Susyana was triumphant in the gunshu (stick) event on Monday
to add to the bronze medal she took in daoshu (saber) a day
before.
It is quite an outstanding achievement considering the fact
Susyana was making her debut at the region's biennial multisports
event. Born in Jakarta on Nov. 19, 1984, Susyana was trained by
her father Rahmat, who competed in the spear event at the 1993
Games.
"Because I didn't go to any wushu school, my father really
trained me hard," she told The Jakarta Post from Penang via the
phone.
The Chinese martial art wushu competition is being held at the
PISA Indoor Stadium on Penang Island, some 300 kilometers north
of here.
"As I grew older, I understood that such rigorous training was
fundamental in a bid to achieve good results. Since then, I just
trained by myself without any hesitation," she recollected.
The Indonesian Wushu Association set up a centralized training
camp in Medan, North Sumatra, in February to prepare its SEA
Games-bound athletes and hired two Chinese coaches, Ye Song Xian
and Cai Li Juan.
"Both coaches applied strict discipline the same way they had
done in China. They also implemented a tough physical training
regime to improve our fitness," said Susyana.
She admitted that initially she found it difficult to adjust
herself to the training camp, especially because she had to live
so far away from home in Jakarta.
All athletes went through three stages of selection before
being named on the SEA Games squad.
Susyana, the second of three siblings, is a student of
Dharmajaya Senior High School in West Jakarta. During the
training program the wushu association provided teachers to help
athletes keep up with their schooling commitments.
When asked about her next target, Susyana said she was
preparing for the Pusan 2002 Asian Games and Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games.
"All the athletes have been notified that there will be
another training center for the Pusan Asiad and long-term
preparation for the Beijing Olympiad.
"I have to train harder because those competitions will be
tighter. I must keep improving myself," she added.
Susyana grabbed three gold medals at the 2000 National Games
(PON) in changquan (bare fist), daoshu and gunshu events. She
chalked up her best international achievement at the 1999
Malaysian Open when she won the gold in her favorite gunshu and
the bronze in daoshu.
"Winning the SEA Games gold medal is such a joyful experience
for me after I managed to only finish fifth at the Asian
Championships in Vietnam last November," said Susyana.
"It's a kind of sweet revenge because most of those
participating in the Asian event came to Kuala Lumpur." (nvn)