"100,000 people packed a football stadium in Djakarta on Sunday to watch Indonesia’s greatest gladiator Bandot Lahardo, fight a lion to the death bare-handed. Bandot has already killed a tiger and two bulls in East Java with his bare hands, and his appearance in the football stadium was expected to be a highlight in show business history. As it turned out, 100,000 people were disappointed, because the lion refused to fight.
Bandot, resplendent in a scarlet loincloth, patiently waited for the lion to attack, But the lion was even more patient. When Bandot advanced, the lion slunk away.
The crowd, which included foreign minister Adam Malik, booed and catcalled, but to no evil. Armed stadium officials decided to goad the lion into action. The lion replied with a tiny snarl through the bars, but it wouldn’t even face 39-year-old Bandot.
90 minutes ticked away but still the lion wouldn’t fight, so the contest was called off. Later, however, the crowd got the sight of blood when a more show business-conscious bull charged Bandot, slightly wounding him in the chest."