T

he goddess of fortune seemed to be on the side of Indonesia’s sepaktakraw in the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday as the red-and-white team received a second chance following an emotional walkout. Even better, the team was awarded a bronze medal, the team manager said.

“We have asked for an apology from the organizers. After a series of discussions, they have agreed to put an end to this problem,” Indonesian sepaktakraw team manager Safrizal Bakhtiar told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He admitted that the Indonesian women’s sepaktakraw team had made a serious mistake by walking off during an ongoing match. He added that the players and the coach had been too emotional in responding to what they believed was serious misconduct.

“They were on fire and thus couldn’t think clearly about the consequences of their actions,” Safrizal said.

The Asian Sepak Takraw Federation (ASTAF) president Abdul Halim Bin Kader said the decision to award the Indonesian team a bronze was taken on the grounds of the “unity” values upheld in the region’s biggest sporting event.

“The SEA Games is the only means to tighten harmony and friendship among delegates [in the region]. Although it is considered a serious violation, as a leader I have to take into account the relations between Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries,” he said, adding that a phone call from the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) chairman Erick Thohir, who offered a sincere apology, had convinced him to make the decision.

The decision allows the team to earn the bronze medal in the competition where the participants comprised Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

According to the Sepak Takraw Technical Handbook released by the Malaysian Organizing Committee (Masoc), any team that concedes or abandons a match shall forfeit its right to any medal.

Halim, however, was quick to add that a severe punishment, including a ban and revocation of coaching license, could be handed down to Asry Syam, the Indonesian coach who is believed to have urged the team to leave the court.

Halim said that any objection should have been formally filed after the game and stressed that all match officials assigned for every game had been carefully selected and their credentials were thoroughly examined.

The outcry from the Indonesian team that led to the walkout decision was based on allegations of unfair refereeing from Mohammed Radhi Che Mei, who frequently called Indonesian players for committing service faults against host Malaysia.

Commenting on this, Asry said the action was a form of accumulative disappointment suffered by his team during the entire tournament.

“I have personally considered the move and I just want to defend my country,” the coach said.

Safrizal said he had warned all players and coaches not to repeat the same mistake again in the future and instead do their best to win the gold medal at the quadrant category, where he expected a gold.

In the soccer arena, Endri Irawan, manager of the Under-22 national soccer team, brushed off rumors that their hotel had failed to serve dinner for Indonesian soccer players after the match between Indonesia and Timor Leste on Sunday, which ended with an Indonesian victory of 1-0.

“It wasn’t entirely true. The hotel did serve dinner for the players. I don’t know who produced that picture. We won’t be distracted by that [issue] and we will keep practicing like usual,” Endri said.

He said what had happened was that the team had only waited for a few minutes and then the dinner was served as usual.

He added that all team members had been looked after well during their stay in Kuala Lumpur.

A picture showing two Indonesian team coaches facing empty plates in a hotel dining room along with the statement saying that the hotel had not served dinner for the players was widely distributed on social media on Sunday.