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RI shuttlers shine in China

Indonesia’s last hope in badminton, men’s doubles Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan, collected the fourth gold medal for Indonesia at the Asian Games after defeating Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong on Saturday at the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou

Matheos Viktor Messakh (The Jakarta Post)
Guangzhou, China
Sun, November 21, 2010

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RI shuttlers shine in China

I

ndonesia’s last hope in badminton, men’s doubles Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan, collected the fourth gold medal for Indonesia at the Asian Games after defeating Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong on Saturday at the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou.

The Indonesian duo came back from a first set loss to defeat the Malaysians 16-21, 26-24, 21-19.

“I am very excited to play and win in China. Though we lost in the second game we managed to fight back,” said Hendra after the match.

China, meanwhile, has won all the other four finals in badminton: the men’s team, women’s team, women’s singles, and women’s mixed doubles, with two more gold medals up for grabs on Sunday.

China’s Wang Shixian defeated compatriot Wang Xin 21-18, 21-15 to win the women’s singles, with Japan’s Eriko Hirose and Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin sharing bronze.

“I have prepared a long time for these Games and I think my performance was fine throughout the game,” Shixian said.

“I think my win today was mainly due to my good start, which paid off later in the game. But when I got to game point in each game, I was a little impatient, and allowed Wang Xin to win several points,” she said.

An all-Chinese final was also on the cards in the women’s doubles, with Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei beating Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli 20-22, 21-15, 21-12 on Friday.

Earlier on Saturday, Indonesia grabbed another gold medal in the dragon boat men’s 250-meter straight race, sweeping the men’s events and confirming their status as an emerging power in international dragon boat racing.

The Indonesians clocked 48.681 seconds to win gold, while favorites Myanmar finished second in 49.401 seconds and hosts China took bronze with a time of 49.467 seconds.

The Indonesian dragon boat squad was almost excluded from the country’s contingent to the Games.

“We were rejected by the sports authorities several times before they finally accepted our proposal in June [to participate in the Games]. They thought we would never win any medals,” men’s team captain Asnawir told The Jakarta Post during the euphoric celebration on the bank of the Zengcheng Dragon Boat Lake.

“We had asked them since March but only received the approval in June,” Asnawir, a native of Raha Village in Southeast Sulawesi, said.

Indonesian Rowing and Canoeing Association (Podsi) chairman Achmad Sutjipto said the team had to fight hard for a place in the Indonesian delegation.

During initial preparations in February, the team was not sure whether they would be included in the national contingent because the government’s Top-Tier Athlete Program (PAL) refused to include the dragon boat team in the Indonesian squad.

However, the team refused to give up, and after the new Indonesian Gold Program (PRIMA) authority was established, the 22-member men’s team and 22-member women’s team were finally accepted.

“We persuaded them that it was worthwhile to include the dragon boat teams because they showed that they could compete very well in previous competitions,” said Sutjipto, who is also the former head of the PAL program.

“I understand that PAL was not sure about including the teams because of the size of the squad, but it is not about money. I also don’t believe that the state could not [afford to] send 44 athletes to an international event,” he said.

The celebrations quickly got underway at Zengcheng Dragon Boat Lake, where even the organizers could not stop athletes, officials, journalists and locals from proceeding with their euphoric celebration at the medal ceremony site. Some
locals requested to have their pictures taken with the Indonesian rowers and even asked for their victory bouquets.

“We predicted this outcome,” said Hadi Wihardja, the national squad coordinator for measurable sports.

As dragon boat racing is a non-Olympic sport, the celebrations may stop here at the Asian Games.

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