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Asian Para Games: Hary wants to play forever, Hafizh hunting for more gold
Indonesian para shuttlers Hary Susanto, 43, (left) hits the shuttle as his partner, Hafizh Briliansyah (right), looks on during their men’s doubles match in the 2018 Asian Para Games men’s standing team badminton competition in Jakarta on Saturday. Indonesia won the team competition gold medal on Sunday, beating Malaysia 2-1.
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Age just a number: Indonesian para shuttlers Hary Susanto, 43, (left) hits the shuttle as his partner, Hafizh Briliansyah (right), looks on during their men’s doubles match in the 2018 Asian Para Games men’s standing team badminton competition in Jakarta on Saturday. Indonesia won the team competition gold medal on Sunday, beating Malaysia 2-1. (INAPGOC/Hadi Abdulloh)
A
ge just a number: Indonesian para shuttlers Hary Susanto, 43, (left) hits the shuttle as his partner, Hafizh Briliansyah (right), looks on during their men’s doubles match in the 2018 Asian Para Games men’s standing team badminton competition in Jakarta on Saturday. Indonesia won the team competition gold medal on Sunday, beating Malaysia 2-1.(INAPGOC/Hadi Abdulloh)
After battling homesickness as he prepared for the 2018 Asian Para Games, para shuttler Hary Susanto was rewarded with the sweetest fruit, helping Indonesia win its first gold medal of the Para Games on Sunday.
Indonesia defeated Malaysia 2-1 in men’s team standing category at Istora Senayan stadium at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Jakarta.
Although Hary, who partnered with Hafizh Brilliansyah Prawiranegara in the men’s doubles, lost his match in final of the team competition, Indonesia still managed to overcome silver medalist Malaysia.
The victory was even more special as his wife and two children witnessed his success.
To prepare for the Para Games, Hary, who competes in the SL4 category for those with lower body impairments, went to Surakarta, Central Java, to attend the national training camp since January. He only managed to visit his family in Bandung, West Java, once a month during the camp.
Following his success in the team competition, Hary has the chance to add to his medal tally in two more categories alongside Leani Ratri Oktila in the mixed doubles, and Ukun Rukaendi in the men’s doubles.
Hary and Leani are the top-seeded pair in the mixed doubles, and together they have won several titles, including the 2018 Dubai Para-Badminton International, the 2018 Forza Irish Para Badminton International and the gold medal at the 2017 ASEAN Para Games.
“We have a chance to win a medal in the mixed doubles,” said Hary.
Hary and Hafiz showed significant progress throughout the team competition, which began on Saturday.
They collected wins in their matchups against Hong Kong in the quarterfinal and Thailand in semifinal. In the final, however, they failed to contribute — mostly owing to fatigue from the tight schedule.
“We could not concentrate. We could not maintain our lead. We were under pressure,” said Hary, claiming that Istora’s crowd was the loudest he had heard.
Hary admitted that he was no longer young, but that competing against younger players had motivated him to perform at his best.
“In terms of physical strength, I may be weaker compared to the younger players, but I excel in terms of experience,” he added.
Playing since a tender age, Hary, who joined the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) in 2006, said he had not set a retirement date.
As a seasoned player, Hary has competed in all three editions of the Asian Para Games.
At the inaugural Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China, in 2010, Hary won the men’s doubles gold as well as the men’s singles silver.
In 2014, he retained the men’s doubles gold with Ukun at the Incheon Asian Para Games in South Korea.
Last year, Hary and Ukun, 48, owned the World Para Badminton Championship in Ulsan, South Korea.
“I will keep playing for as long as I can. My next target is competing at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics as I will only focus on playing mixed doubles,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hafizh, 28, expressed hope he could win more golds at this year’s Para Games.
Born and raised in a badminton loving family, Hafizh said he was inspired by his mother when he saw her play the sport.
When he was young, Bogor, West Java-born Hafizh often played badminton with his friends and family in front of his house.
An accident, in which Hafizh fell from a fence and broke his left hand, did not dampen his love for badminton. He also did not let his disability stop him from doing what he loved.
“My parents told me to play with my right hand, but I was stubborn and kept playing with my left hand. Until now, I play with my disabled hand,” Hafizh told the press.
Playing for the West Java team, Hafizh took home two gold medals at the 2016 National Para Games in Bandung, West Java. He played with Dheva Anrimusthi in the men’s doubles category and Adinda Nugrahaeni in the mixed doubles that time.
Hafizh also secured a men’s doubles gold medal at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Para Games with Dheva.
“It has always been my parents and wife who have motivated me to play well,” said Hafizh, who is a big fan of popular Indonesian men’s doubles pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
