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Hendro breaks 18-year-old record to win gold

Seize the day: Indonesian athlete Hendro competes in the 20-kilometer race walk at the 29th SEA Games men’s’ track and field in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia, on Tuesday

Fachrul Sidiq, Safrin La Batu and Dicky Christanto (The Jakarta Post)
Kuala Lumpur
Wed, August 23, 2017 Published on Aug. 23, 2017 Published on 2017-08-23T00:33:41+07:00

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span class="caption">Seize the day: Indonesian athlete Hendro competes in the 20-kilometer race walk at the 29th SEA Games men’s’ track and field in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Hendro secured the first gold in track and field after finishing first, clocking 1:32:11.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

Race walker star Hendro of Indonesia broke an 18-year-old Southeast Asia (SEA) Games record, delivering another gold medal for the red-and-white squad in the men’s 20-kilometer race walk.

He clocked in at 1:32:11 at the 29th SEA Games, beating previous record holder Narinder Singh Narbans of Malaysia, who needed 1:33:47 in 1999, when the Games were held in Bandar Seri Begawan.

“This victory is for my fellow Indonesians, who may have felt insulted by some incidents during the SEA Games,” said Hendro, who received medical treatment before giving his statement to the media after the race.

Hendro took an early lead in the race at Bukit Jalil Stadium. His foremost competitors were Malaysians Lo Choon Sieng and M. Khairil Harith, who finished second and third, respectively. Each of the three were in the lead at different points during the race.

The 27-year-old Hendro had the chance to run a celebrative round shortly after nailing gold.

Hendro previously won gold at the 2013 Games in Myanmar and the 2015 Games in Singapore. He earned a silver medal in 2011 when Indonesia hosted the event.

On the third day of the Games, Indonesia added five gold medals to its haul. Aside from Hendro, the winners are Juwita Nisa Wazni in women’s nandao and nan gun wushu, Diananda Choirunnisa and Riau Ega Agata in the archery mixed-team recurve, M. Naufal Mahardika in the men’s 10-m air rifle individual shooting and Srunita Sari Sukatendel in the women’s kumite karate.

The country also added four silver and seven bronze medals on Tuesday.

Srunita secured the first gold medal for Indonesia’s karate team, beating Thailands’ Paweena Raksachart 06-00 in the final match of the female kumite below-50-kg category.

Srunita found herself under heavy attacks from the Thai fighter, but the 17-year-old Indonesian was able to use those attacks to her advantage.

“Paweena is actually a tough opponent,” Srunita told The Jakarta Post after the match.

Tuesday’s match was not the first time Srunita met Paweena in a final match. Srunita met Paweena in a final match during a competition in Semarang, Central Java.

Indonesia’s karate team aims to bring home at least one gold medal from the SEA Games, said coach Philip King Galedo. Indonesian fighters will play another six matches on Thursday. Philip said he was optimistic about reaching the goal.

In badminton, where hopes are high for the Indonesian team, the title hunt began on Tuesday. The men’s team eased past Cambodia 3-0 to secure a spot in the semifinals, where it will meet Thailand.

On the women’s side, Indonesia will likely face a tough battle against host Malaysia in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Indonesia enjoyed a bye in Tuesday’s quarters, as its scheduled opponent Laos withdrew from the competition. Meanwhile, Malaysia pocketed the semis spot after ousting Myanmar 3-0.

Ten-man Indonesia held rival Vietnam into a goalless draw on Tuesday night, paving the way for the country to go through to the semifinal round of the soccer competition.

Indonesia played with 10 men after midfielder Hanif Sjahbani was given a second yellow card for a foul.

Indonesia currently stands in third position in Group B with eight points, sitting under Vietnam and Thailand that have both collected 10 points.

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