Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Donny Dharmawan made history Sunday by winning bronze in the 18th World Karate Federation (WKF) Championships in Tampere, Finland, further increasing Indonesia's hopes of claiming gold at the upcoming Asian Games.
Donny lost in the semifinals of the 65-kilogram men's division against Cesar Castano of Spain, who went on to win the gold. He seized third place after outwitting S. Salem Saad of Egypt.
In addition, the Indonesian women's kata team finished fourth in the worlds' top karate competition, which ran from Thursday to Sunday.
""This is history,"" Indonesian team manager Madju Dharyanto said from Tampere on Monday.
Indonesia had never won a medal in the WKF Championships since its inception in 1970.
M. Umar Syarif, seen as the best Indonesian karateka, only finished fifth in the 14th WKF Championships in 1998. Abdul Kadir and Nurasjati also finished fifth in 1996.
Earlier this month, Donny, his compatriot Bambang Maulidin, and the Indonesian women's kumite team won three golds in the Austria Open. Karateka Jenny Zeannet brought home silver.
""Our karatekas are getting stronger now and have reached the world level,"" Madju said.
""We hope they can maintain their top performance to win gold in the upcoming Asian Games, where we are aiming to get one gold.""
Madju, who led the group of 19 karatekas to the chamionships, was excited about Donny's bronze even though the team fell short of its target of two medals.
Madju added that six karatekas would continue to participate in the European league before leaving for the Asian Games.
""This is our program to get the karatekas ready for the Asian Games,"" he said.
The six are Donny, Bambang, Christo Mondolu, M. Umar Syarif, Jenny Zeannet, and Puspa Meonk.
Two more women karatekas will join them soon, but they have not been chosen yet.
The two women will replace Telly Melinda and Puspita Triana Gustin, who returned home from training in Germany earlier this month due to worsening injuries.
