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Indonesian athletes faltering on eve of SEA Games opening
Home: Part of Indonesian badminton team members (from left) head coach Christian Hadinata, shuttlers Markis Kido and Simon Santoso return to the athletic village after conducting their training session for the Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane on Tuesday
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span class="inline inline-center">Home: Part of Indonesian badminton team members (from left) head coach Christian Hadinata, shuttlers Markis Kido and Simon Santoso return to the athletic village after conducting their training session for the Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane on Tuesday. The Games, which will run until Dec. 18, open officially on Wednesday. JP/Arief Suhardiman
Indonesia’s contingent to the Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos, has looked decidedly shaky on the eve of the event’s opening.
After the soccer team suffered an unprecedented loss to the hosts on Monday that puts them in danger of exiting early, the water polo, sepak takraw and table tennis athletes fared no better against their opponents on Tuesday.
The regional multi-event sporting showcase has only just closed the second of 10 days of competition, but the results are proving a dampener for Indonesia’s bid to revive the domination it enjoyed from the inaugural Games in 1977 to 1997.
Most of the Indonesian squad arrived in Vientiane on Tuesday, with head of mission Alex Noerdin claiming they were in good shape for the challenges ahead.
“Our team arrived at the Athlete's Village this morning,” he said during a visit to the LAO ITECC building, which hosts the sepak takraw, pencak silat and wushu.
“They’re in good shape, and thankfully none of them are suffering from flu or fever or diarrhea.”
He added he was pleased with the weather in Vientiane.
“The temperature here is comfortable; in fact, it’s cooler than in Jakarta,” Alex said.
The Indonesian squad comprises 209 male and 136 female athletes.
Some of the teams in the squad, including judo and fin swimming, are expected in town on Friday.
Beach volleyballer Koko Prasetyo Darkuncoro has been chosen to carry the Indonesian flag for the opening ceremony.
The Games feature 11 nations from the Southeast Asian region, and offer up a total of 379 gold medals in 25 sports.
Indonesia is eyeing 58 gold medals for a possible top-three finish.
However, the team has had an inauspicious start.
On Tuesday, the men's water polo team was beaten 13-8 by the Philippines at the Chao Anouvong sports complex, and had to be content with the bronze medal.
Gold went to Singapore after it booked three wins over the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia in the round-robin format.
In sepak takraw, the Indonesian women’s team went down to Vietnam, and also finished with bronze at the LAO ITECC building.
“The team played well for the first 20 minutes, but afterward they failed to overcome their frustration after missing goal upon goal,” said team member Ramli Kumang.
Indonesia went down 670-450 to Vietnam. In the men’s draw, it was another bronze after Indonesia lost to Thailand 980-720.
In table tennis, played at the National University Convention Hall, Thailand again proved the nemesis, beating the Indonesian women 3-0 in a Group B match.
On Wednesday, five gold medals are up for grabs in tae kwon do, two in sepak takraw and one in the men's water polo.
