Second in the games being held in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, was Singapore with 8 golds, 7 silvers and 8 bronzes. Thailand ranked third with a medal score of 6 golds, 9, silvers and 9 bronzes.
Vietnam also won 6 gold medals, but it was placed below Thailand because the number of silvers it won was only 7 with 10 bronzes. The Philippines won 3 golds, 2 silvers and 6 bronzes while Malaysia was in sixth place on the list with 2 golds, 5 silvers and 6 bronzes.
Mynamar got no golds but won 3 silvers and two bronzes while Laos and Cambodia neither bagged any golds or silvers but Laos gained four bronzes and Cambodia one bronze.
Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste had not yet won any medal until the second day of the SEA Games which will last until November 22, 2011.
Indonesia`s gold medals among others came from Karate, Rowing, cycling and track and field competitions.
Indonesia`s 22-strong karate team was able to present five gold medals, one silver and one bronze to the country. The five golds were respectively grabbed by Flenty Enogh (women`s individual kata class), Faizal Zainuddin (men`s individual), Umar Syarif (men`s +84 kg class) and men`s and women`s groups.
During the last event on the first day, Indonesia`s women athlete Telly Melinda had to be content with a bronze medal. The gold medal for this class was won by Vietnamese athlete Nguyet Anh Vu Thi who defeated Thai Paweena Laksachat in the final match.
Flenty Enoch who saw one of her dreams come true when she grabbed a gold by defeating her rival in the finals with a clean 5-0 score. She said: "This will possibly be my first and last gold medal. In the future, it will probably be hard to repeat it because of my age." The rival of the 37-year old Indonesian athlete in the supei rimpei class was Vietnam`s Do Thi Thu Ha.
In the roller skating event, Indonesian roller skaters grabbed two gold medals. The two gold medals were won by Devina Pramudita in the 300-m ITT women`s single event and Allan Chandra in the men`s single of the event.
The West Java chapter of the Indonesian Roller Skaters Association (Perserosi) hailed with joy the winning of two gold medals by Devina Pramudita, a roller skater hailing from West Java, in the 26th SEA Games in Palembang.
"It is of course a joyous surprise for West Java if compared with her achievement in the 300-m ITT women`s single event the other day," Erry Sudradjat, acting chairman of the West Java Perserosi chapter said.
In the meantime, in the rowing event, Indonesia`s women`s kayak 2 team added another gold medal to their country`s top honors tally by winning the 500-meter race on the second day of the 26th SEA Games rowing competition.
The Indonesian women`s rowing team consisting of Masrifah, Rasima, Sarce Aronggear, and Kanti Satyavati was the first to reach the finish line, clocking 01:41:00 at Situ Cipule, Khanewal District, West Java,.
On the second day of the rowing competition, the Indonesian team was able to bag one gold medal. In earlier 500-m races, none of its members was able to win the top spot. Masrifah finished second in the 500-meter individual Kayak race, while Rasima and Sarce Aronggear ranked fourth in the 500-meter Kayak race for pairs,
In the track and field competitions, Indonesia`s long-distance runner Triyaningsih retained her SEA Games championship in the women`s 10,000-meter race by finishing first in 34:52.74 minutes.
With her Saturday win, Tiyaningsih will have won a SEA Games gold medal for the third time. She was also ranked first for the 10,000-meter sprint in SEA Games 2007 and 2009.
Sprinter Serafi Anelis Unani also won a gold medal in the 100 meter run clocking 11:69.
The gold medal for men`s 100 meter also went to Indonesia after Franklin Ramses Buruni finished first in 10:37.
The second and third places for women`s 10,000 meter went to Pham Thi Binh and Pham Thi Hien from Vietnam respectively clocking 36:04.83 and 36:16.84.
The silver medal for women`s 100 meter went to Nongnuch Sanrat of Thailand clocking 11:68. "The photo finish however proved Serafi reached the finish line earlier," organizing committee chairman for athletics Sri Hastuti Merdiko said.
The bronze meanwhile went to Vu Thi Huong of Vietnam finishing in 11 minutes 73 seconds.
The silver medal for men`s 100 meter was taken by Ee Yeo Foo from Singapore finishing in 10 minutes 46 seconds while the bronze went to Wachara Sondee of Thailand clocking 10:47.
Indonesia also won a silver medal from women`s hammer throw after Rose Herlinda Inggriana finished second with a throw of 51.96 meter.
The first place was taken by Malaysian Tan Song Hwa (55.15 meter) while the bronze went to Loralie Semona from the Philippines throwing as far as 49.69 meter.
Another gold medal was also won from the cycling event. Indonesian cyclist Purnomo succeeded in winning the 1.5-km men`s downhill race.
The Indonesian gold medalist Purnomo finished first with his best time of 0.02:31.45, after Philippine cyclist Joey U Barba with record time of 00.02:35.92 grabbed the silver medal.
The third place was won by a Thai cyclist with record time a 00.02:35.92 and took the bronze.
For the men`s downhill race, the Indonesian team has come with a force of two racers in the final round, namely Purnomo and Popo Ario Sejati.
Unfortunately Popo only won tenth position with record time of 00.03:07.06.
Indonesian cycling coach chief Wahyudi said that the achievement is still to be proud of as Indonesia for the first won the gold medal.
"The winner is not important, but most important is winning the gold," he said. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
