While the Indonesian soccer team ignominiously exited the SEA Games, the cyclists, weightlifters and karate athletes managed to strike gold in Laos.

The soccer team, already on the brink of dropping out following a shock 2-0 defeat to the hosts earlier, sank further on Thursday, with Nurdin Halid's squad succumbing to a 3-1 rout by Myanmar in their Group B match at the National Stadium in Vientiane.

While the soccer team will now have to leave for home just two days after the opening ceremony, the cycling team will continue their bid for a total of six gold medals, which had an inspiring start Thursday in the downhill event.

Risa Suseanty and Popo Ariyo Sejati gave Indonesia their first two gold medals from the cycling competition, before the karate team contributed another two and the weightlifting team one, courtesy of Jadi Setiadi.

Risa and Popo overcome Thai challengers en route to their victories.

“I was feeling the pressure, but I held it and I was well prepared for the challenge,” said Risa, who also won in 1997, 1999 and 2001 before experiencing a dip in the following two SEA Games.

The winning day should lay a strong foundation for the team's bid to win six of eight gold medals on offer in cycling.

Following the double victory with the mountain bikes, Indonesian karate athletes won two surprising gold medals, with Faizal Zainudin playing a pivotal role in the accomplishment.

He won the individual kata before teaming up with Fidelys Lolobua and Aswar to triumph in the team event.

“We can now think about winning four gold medals as expected,” said team manager Djafar Djantang.

In the weightlifting, Jadi beat the odds by winning the men's 56-kilogram division, which also featured Olympic silver medalist Anh Tuan Hoang of Vietnam, and dedicated the victory to his 1-year-old son, Kevin Anugrah Wijaya.

Elsewhere, Indonesian athletes were less successful.

The tae kwon do squad missed out on gold after medal hopefuls Basuki Nugroho in the welterweight and Eka Sahara in the women's middleweight failed to make it to the final round.

Middleweight Rizal Samsir and heavyweight Catur Yuni Riyaning-sih fared better by snatching bronze.
In table tennis, Muhammad Hussein lost twice in the semifinals to Thailand.

The soccer medal remains as elusive as ever, after the team crashed in the preliminary stage, taking only a point from the possible nine to languish at the bottom of Group B.

The five gold medals and 10 bronze put Indonesia, a former powerhouse in the biennial multi-sport event, in fourth place.

Singapore has made a commanding start, topping the medal tally with nine gold, three silver and seven bronze medals.

Reigning champion Thailand is second with six gold, 12 silver and six bronze medals, followed by Vietnam (5-0-10). Malaysia (2-5-7), Myanmar (2-3-4), Laos (2-2-3) and Cambodia (0-2-2) round up the medal board.

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