A split second after the umpire declared a draw for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games’ Singapore versus Philippines men’s water polo match on Friday, members of the Indonesian team cheered from the stands, knowing that it meant they had just won a gold medal.

The victory would be Team Indonesia’s first SEA Games gold for water polo.

The Philippines-Singapore match was held at the New Clark City Aquatics Center in Capas, Tarlac, the Philippines. The draw placed Indonesia at the top of the leaderboard, with seven points from three wins and one draw. The team had defeated Malaysia 14-7 and led with a goal difference against 27-time SEA Games champion Singapore in a match that was a milestone for Indonesia.

For the first time in many years, Ridjkie Mulia and his teammates stopped Singapore's powerful 52-year domination on Thursday by producing the pivotal 7-5 win. The Lions have won 27 consecutive gold medals in men's water polo since the sport made its debut in the 1965 SEA Games.

Indonesia’s best result against Singapore in the water polo competition was a draw in the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2017.

Indonesia’s head coach, Milos Sakovic, knew that the Philippines Games would be an opportunity for the team to make history by breaking Singapore’s long-time domination. But he did not want to jinx it, keeping his players’ feet on the ground while boosting their optimism prior to the competition.

“We have been fighting for the last three years and my main task is bringing the SEA Games’ gold medal to Indonesia,” said the Serbian-born Sakovic, who began his work as the national coach in 2017.

“Now it’s time for us [to think] how to popularize water polo in Indonesia. [I hope] that this gold medal could be the start for the sport to rise in the country.”

In early October, Singapore still dominated Indonesia by winning first place at the FINA Water Polo Challengers Cup held in the city-state, in which Indonesia finished third, trailing the host team and Austria in second place.

Sakovic previously expressed his concern over the sustainability of competitive water polo in Indonesia as the main focus has been on further improving the senior team.

Ahead of the Philippines SEA Games, the team also lacked competition experience, playing in only two official tournaments.

“We even have a problem [at home] as we don’t even have sparring partners,” he said.

The Indonesian water polo team started its intensive training camp in July, while Singapore had started earlier in January.

“They [Singapore] have a different system in a sense of how they organize [the team]. They invest a lot of resources in developing, which Indonesia does not, so the future of water polo is still questionable because we are focusing only on the senior team at this moment,” Sakovic said.

The regeneration of players is one of the challenges that Indonesian men’s water polo faces.

Top players Rezza Auditya Putra, for example, have been on the national team since the 2007 Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Ridjkie and Delvin Feliciano are also veterans, having played for the national squad since the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Ridjkie and Rezza enjoyed a competitive atmosphere by playing for VK Beograd in the 2019 season of the Serbian water polo premier league prior to the Philippines Games.

Indonesia Aquatics Association (PRSI) chairman Anindya Bakrie welcomed the gold medal with a very positive note as he hoped it could motivate athletes from other sports to aim for more golds.

Team captain Rezza said he was at loss for words as he thought the achievement was a miracle.

“It’s hard to express; we have been fighting from the beginning. We have to thank coach Milos as well as the PRSI and all the parties who helped with our fight,” he said.

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