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Indonesia bags three golds in Marina Channel
Row to the gold: Maryam Magdalena Daimoi (top) rows her way through during the womenâs 500-meter race in the rowing competition at Marina Channel, Singapore, on Thursday
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Row to the gold: Maryam Magdalena Daimoi (top) rows her way through during the womenâs 500-meter race in the rowing competition at Marina Channel, Singapore, on Thursday. Maryam clocked the best time of 1 minute and 44.29 seconds to win gold for Indonesia.(Antara/Nyoman Budhiana) (top) rows her way through during the womenâs 500-meter race in the rowing competition at Marina Channel, Singapore, on Thursday. Maryam clocked the best time of 1 minute and 44.29 seconds to win gold for Indonesia.(Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)
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span class="inline inline-center">Row to the gold: Maryam Magdalena Daimoi (top) rows her way through during the women's 500-meter race in the rowing competition at Marina Channel, Singapore, on Thursday. Maryam clocked the best time of 1 minute and 44.29 seconds to win gold for Indonesia.(Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)
Indonesian rowing team bagged three out of eight gold medals up for grabs on the opening day of the competition at the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Marina Channel, Singapore, on Thursday.
As Vietnam dominated the races with a four-gold winning streak, Indonesia stole its first gold medal with Maryam Magdalena Daimoi, who proved her unchallenged form in winning the women's lightweight single 500 meter.
She finished in 1 minute and 44.29 seconds followed by Thailand's Neegree Puttharaksa, who finished 1.46 seconds later. Host rower Syaidah A.Mohamed Rafa'ee took bronze at 1:47.46 minutes.
'I'm glad I can win a gold medal for Indonesia,' said Maryam.
She won gold and silver in the 2013 SEA Games in women's doubles sculls with her partner Wahyuni and in women's singles sculls, respectively.
She said that her paddle was stuck in the middle of the race but thanks to her hard work and experience she could overcome the obstacle to win the race.
In the men's 500 m singles sculls, Memo snatched the second gold for the team after finishing at 1:31.50 minutes. He was trailed closely by Myanmar's Min Aung Ko who finished 1.69 seconds later, followed by Nampratueng Prem of Thailand in 1:34.95 minutes.
'I'm glad I can improve my performance by winning gold, after bringing home a bronze in the 2013 SEA Games,' said the athlete from Ambon, Maluku.
He said his eight months of hard training paid off.
The athlete, who has a towering height of 193 centimeters, will also compete in the men's 1,000 m singles sculls in the finals to be held on Sunday.
The third gold of the day came from the foursome of Mochamad Ali Darta Lakiki, Anugrah Rendi Syuhada, Yakin Muhad and Al Ghiffari Denri Maulidzar, who powered their way through to win the men's lightweight four 500 m.
They finished first in 1:22.56 minutes, followed by Vietnam and Myanmar, who finished 0.42 seconds and 1.06 seconds later, respectively.
Ali, who also snatched two golds from coxed eight and lightweight coxless four events in the previous Games in Myanmar, hoped that he and other Indonesian rowers could grab more medals in the last day of competition with 10 golds on offer.
The Indonesian team showcased remarkable work when they overtook the lead from Myanmar and Vietnam teams in the last few meters of the race.
According to Ali, it was part of their strategy to let the opponents drain their energy before they sprinted to the finish line.
Ali said that their next target would be to qualify for the Olympics. Therefore, after the SEA Games, they would depart to the Netherlands on June 17 to have a tryout before taking part in the 2015 world rowing cup III in July.
Indonesia added three silvers and two bronzes.
Ardi Isadi in the men's lightweight single sculls won a silver medal with the other two snatched from the men's pair and the women's pair in their respective 500 m events. The bronzes came from the men's lightweight double 500 m and women's lightweight doubles 500 m.
