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t was a case of lost momentum as the Indonesian under-23 soccer team, competing in the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which concluded Tuesday, lost to defending champion Malaysia in the gold medal match in a penalty shootout.

What an unfair finale to a match between the best teams of the region that dented Indonesia’s bid to win back the soccer laurels after its success in 1991. There was no reason for the defeat other than that Malaysia simply were a better-prepared team, as they had previously proven in their historic ASEAN Football Federation Cup win last year, again beating Indonesia in the final.

Hopes had been abounding that the Young Garudas — as the local fans call their Indonesian team — would snatch the gold medal on Monday following convincing wins ahead of the final, minus a 1-0 loss to Malaysia in the final group stage match.

The defeat was a repeat of the bitter-sweet ending for Indonesia at the 1997 SEA Games in Jakarta, when the host team romped home with the most gold medals but the coveted soccer gold medal went to Thailand after Indonesia was again bested in the final in another penalty shootout.

This time around, Indonesia bagged a whopping collection of 182 gold, 151 silver and 142 bronze medals to finish the 12 days of competition featuring athletes from 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries and Timor Leste.

But much was at stake in Monday’s soccer gold medal match, given the arch rivalry between Indonesia and Malaysia in soccer and badminton, as well as sour sentiment over our bilateral ties especially with the recent rows over borders, migrant workers and claims to national heritages.

Sadly, local media here unnecessary fired up the tension, in an apparent attempt to give a morale boost to the national team, by rekindling the memory of the confrontation policy against Malaysia back in early 1960s.

The fueled nationalism perhaps explained the enthusiasm of soccer fans who packed Bung Karno Main Stadium to support their national team. This is what the SEA Games organizers had failed to anticipate ahead of the soccer final. Angry fans burned down a ticket box after the organizers doubled the price of tickets for Monday’s match while at the same time many tickets were hoarded by scalpers.

Outside the stadium, two Indonesian team supporters were found dead after being trampled in a crush to enter the stadium, which should have been avoided had the organizers taken precautionary measures.

Regardless of the disappointing result, the Young Garudas can hold their heads high as they proved their critics wrong, especially amid the hustle and bustle of the new Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) board of executives and the chaotic domestic league prior to the SEA Games.

Papuan boys Patrich Wanggai and Titus Bonai have emerged as new heroes, scoring almost all of the Indonesian goals before the final. However, the whole under-23 team, led by coach Rahmad Darmawan, has sparked new hope that Indonesia can restore its pride in international competitions.

The loss must teach Indonesia a lot of lessons on how to build a winning team. If necessary, Indonesia can learn from Malaysia in developing soccer and other sports so as to reach the heights at the international level.

Some of the Indonesian players may not be in the team that competes in the next SEA Games in Myanmar in 2013 due to age restriction, but let’s hope they will fulfill our long-time dream of winning the soccer gold medal and more international laurels.