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Jokowi, Prabowo share stage, group hug at Asian Games
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his political rival in the 2019 presidential race, Prabowo Subianto, share a group hug with an Indonesian gold medalist in pencak silat during the Asian Games. (Biro Pers Setpres/Laily Rachev )
I
n a rare moment in the lead up to the 2019 presidential election, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his political nemesis, Prabowo Subianto, ended up having a group hug while celebrating the victory of a pencak silat athlete during the Asian Games in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Hanifan Yudani Kusuma, who won a gold medal in pencak silat in the final of the men's Class C (55 kilograms to 60 kg) on Wednesday, united the two presidential rivals through a group hug when he came to their VVIP seats to greet them after his victory.
Prabowo Subianto (third left) and Megawati's daughter Puan Maharani watch a pencak silat match during the Asian Games in Jakarta on Wednesday. Prabowo attended the event in his capacity as the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) chairman. ">
Wearing a red sports jacket, Jokowi sat side by side with Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo, who attended the sporting event in his capacity as the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) chairman.
Hanifan came to Jokowi and hugged him briefly before hugging Prabowo. Afterward, the athlete extended his hand to Jokowi and pulled him in for a group hug with Prabowo.
The moment immediately garnered applause from the audience as well as officials in the VVIP seats, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani.
Padepokan Pencak Silat Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, sore tadi. Begitu dinyatakan sebagai peraih medali emas kelas C setelah menundukkan Nguyen Thai Linh asal Vietnam, pesilat putra Hanifan Yudani Kusumah merayakan kemenangannya dengan berlari keliling arena lalu naik ke tribun penonton tempat saya duduk bersama Ketua Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia, Bapak Prabowo Subianto. Kami bertiga -- Hanifan, saya dan Pak Prabowo -- pun berpelukan dalam selubung merah putih. Selamat untuk Hanifan, seluruh atlet pencak silat Indonesia, pelatih dan jajaran pengurus, yang mempersembahkan 14 medali emas untuk kontingen Indonesia di Asian Games 2018. Dengan perolehan medali 30 emas, 22 perak, dan 35 perunggu sampai hari ini, Indonesia berada di posisi keempat -- sebuah pencapaian baru yang menjadi sejarah bagi dunia olahraga negeri ini.
A post shared by Joko Widodo (@jokowi) on
Jokowi later posted a picture of the group hug on his Instagram account and congratulated Hanifan and the 14 pencak silat athletes who won gold medals for Indonesia.
"The three of us – Hanifan, myself and Pak Prabowo – hugged each other under the cover of the Red and White," Jokowi said in the caption of the post, referring to the Indonesian flag that Hanifan draped around his back.
Jokowi and Prabowo, who competed against each other in the 2014 presidential race, are set to have a rematch next year. Jokowi is paired with non-active Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) leader Ma'ruf Amin, while Prabowo will run with former Jakarta deputy governor Sandiaga Uno. (ahw)
