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Indonesia emerges as overall champion
Indonesia emerged as the overall champion among 10 participating nations in the final day of the 17th Asean University Games (AUG) in Palembang, South Sumatra
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ndonesia emerged as the overall champion among 10 participating nations in the final day of the 17th Asean University Games (AUG) in Palembang, South Sumatra.
The host country topped the medal standing with a total of 66 golds, 78 silvers and 46 bronze medals. Thailand sits in second place with 53 golds, 34 silvers and 27 bronze followed by Malaysia with 40 gold, 42 silver and 49 bronze.
The 66 out of a total of 207 gold medals up for grabs during the 11-day event was far from the target of 90 golds.
The achievement, however, was much better than the 41 gold medals brought home from the previous event in Vientiane, Laos in 2012, where Indonesia finished fourth.
The last time Indonesia came out as the overall winner was at the 12th AUG in Surabaya, East Java, in 2004.
According to Indonesia's head of contingent Mulyana, there were some events in several sports divisions ' where some Indonesian athletes were favorites ' including wushu, taekwondo, fencing, sepaktakraw (kick volleyball) and pencak silat (traditional martial art) that had to be cancelled due to a lack of participants.
'This win is important for the students. It shows that our students are not only achievers in the academic sector but also in sport,' said Mulyana on the sidelines of a final badminton match between Indonesia and Malaysia in Jakabaring Sport City on Sunday.
Mulyana, who is also head of the achievement and competition development division of the Indonesian University Sports Agency (Bapomi), said they would evaluate the performance of their athletes during the biennial multi sports event.
'We will evaluate their performances starting from National Students Sports Week [Pomnas] to the AUG to select the best athletes who will represent Indonesia at the international students sports event, or the Universiade, in Gwangju, South Korea,' he said.
The 28th Universiade is slated to be held from July 3 to July 14, 2015.
The closing ceremony of the 17th AUG was slated for later on Sunday. Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Imam Nahrowi was expected to attend.
Indonesia would also hand over the AUG flag to Singapore, which will host the next games in 2016.
