Indonesia’s top athletes are on track to meet President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s request to secure second place at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines as the national contingent has replaced Vietnam with a haul of total 128 medals, comprising 40 golds, 41 silvers and 47 bronzes.

Runner Agus Prayogo was among those who won gold on Friday. Agus, a member of the Indonesian Military, said the humidity had been a challenge during the marathon ending at New Clark City Stadium, despite climatic conditions not too different from back home.

“I had studied the temperature and climate differences between here and Jakarta for months, but I still found today’s humidity mildly annoying. Overall, I’m quite satisfied with my achievement this morning,” he told news agency Antara.

Agus finished the marathon in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 48 seconds, closely followed by Sanchai Namkhet of Thailand, who crossed the line only 30 seconds later to clinch silver. Mohaizar Mohamad of Malaysia finished 50 seconds behind Agus to earn the bronze medal.

The Bogor-born long-distance runner will also compete in the 10-kilometer race on Saturday, which, he lamented, left him with insufficient time to recover from the marathon.

He compared the arrangement with the more lenient schedule of the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, which allowed five days for recovery between the marathon and other races.

“The 2017 SEA Games organizer had also put the marathon on the first day of the event but then given us five days of rest before the other races. But I’ll do my best,” he said.

Indonesian tennis ace Aldila Sutjiadi secured her first gold medal in the women’s singles category after defeating Savanna Ly-Nguyen of Vietnam in straight sets, 6-0 7-5, in Manila on Friday.

Aldila brought to an end Indonesia’s gold medal drought in the women’s singles category, with no gold won since Ayu Damayanti secured the coveted medal by beating Noppawan Lertcheewarkarn at the 2011 SEA Games hosted in Jakarta and Palembang.

“I must admit that I was a bit shaky in the second [set], allowing my opponent to catch up to equalize at 5-5. I was lucky to free myself from that trap and win the match,” she said.

Aldila has the chance to add to her gold medal collection on Saturday, when she will team up with Christopher Rungkat in the mixed doubles to face Sanchai Ratiwatana and Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand.

Meanwhile, exceeding the target has been the name of the game for Indonesia’s shooting team, which secured gold and silver in the mixed metallic silhouette air pistol category.

Agus Domosarjito won gold with 38 points, closely followed by compatriot Totok Trimartanto, who collected 37 points to earn the silver medal. Thapthinphat Pisit of Thailand came third with 36 points.

The Indonesian shooting team has so far secured six golds, five silvers and two bronze medals, far surpassing the Indonesian Target Shooting and Hunting Association’s (Perbakin) target of three gold medals and the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games performance, when Indonesian shooters brought home only one gold medal.

In canoeing, Indonesian athletes won their second gold medal as the duo of Anwar Tarra and Yuda Firmansyah secured the precious metal in the 1,000-meter doubles category. The race was held at Malawaan Park in Subic Bay, Luzon, on Friday, after being postponed due to Thypoon Kammuri.

The Indonesian pair clocked in at 3 minutes and 52.01 seconds, outpacing Sai Ming Wai and Aung Phyo Hein of Myanmar, who finished 6.31 seconds later to win silver. Bui Thanh Pham and Tran Thanh of Vietnam, finishing only 6.71 seconds behind the Indonesians, had to content themselves with bronze.

The first gold was presented by Maizir Ryondra, who competed in the men’s single canoe 1,000-m event.

Indonesia’s canoeists have so far secured two golds, one silver and one bronze.

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