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Indonesia slips to 4th rank despite two golds in badminton
Smashing it: Apriyani Rahayu (left), who is in the Indonesian women’s badminton doubles pair with Greysia Polii, returns a shuttlecock toward Thai shuttlers Chayanit Chaladchalam and Phataimas Muenwong (not pictured) during a women’s doubles final match at the Southeast Asian Games at Muntinlupa sports complex in Manila on Monday
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mashing it: Apriyani Rahayu (left), who is in the Indonesian women’s badminton doubles pair with Greysia Polii, returns a shuttlecock toward Thai shuttlers Chayanit Chaladchalam and Phataimas Muenwong (not pictured) during a women’s doubles final match at the Southeast Asian Games at Muntinlupa sports complex in Manila on Monday. Greysia and Apriyani got a gold medal after winning 2-0 (21-3, 21-18).(Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
The battle for second place at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games is heating up as Indonesia has been relegated to fourth rank on the medal table by Vietnam and Thailand claiming positions two and three.
Indonesia witnessed a major slowdown in its gold medal productivity on Monday, while Vietnam and Thailand went full-steam ahead with gold-worthy achievements in athletics, swimming, wrestling and gymnastics. Indonesia’s medal haul now comprises 69 gold, 76 silver and 102 bronze medals. Meanwhile, Thailand sits in second position with 84 golds, 91 silvers and 102 bronzes. Vietnam is third with 79 gold medals, 78 silvers and 94 bronzes.
The women’s doubles pair of Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu contributed one of two gold medals earned by Indonesia’s badminton team. The other one was presented by mixed doubles duo Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti.
Greysia and Apriyani defeated Chayanit Chaladchalam and Phataimas Muenwong of Thailand in straight games 21-3 and 21-18, the first of which was secured in no time as Greysia said they had been well briefed on how to deal with their opponents' playing style.
“We were ready to face our opponents. However, apparently they also learned their lesson and gave us a hard time during the second game. We were lucky to end the match in our favor,” Greysia told news agency Antara on Monday.
Apriyani said their victory was a sweet revenge as she recalled being beaten by the same opponents two years ago.
“We hope to be able to use this victory as a stepping stone to a higher stage,” she said.
Mixed doubles pair Praveen and Melati narrowly defeated Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie of Malaysia 21-19, 19-21 and 23-21.
“This is my second gold medal,” said Praveen, who had previously secured gold in the same category but with a different partner, namely Debby Susanto, in the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.
Praveen parted ways with Debby in December 2017 and has teamed up with Melati ever since. The duo is already looking beyond the SEA Games as they intend to participate in the BWF World Tour Finals to be held at the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China, from Dec. 11 to 15.
In track and field, meanwhile, Emilia Nova secured gold for Indonesia in the women’s 100 meter hurdles. Emilia had sustained a heel injury several months ago and acknowledged that she was actually still in the recovery phase.
Emilia admitted that there was a time when she felt down because of the injury and almost lost hope. She saw light at the end of the tunnel, however, a few weeks ago when she felt better and started to train again ahead of
the Games.
“The pain still comes and goes, even when I race. This has been an uphill battle for me due to the heel injury, and I am very grateful that I was still able to get the gold medal,” she said.
Emilia clocked in at 13.61 seconds, while the silver medal was secured by Tran Thi Yen Hoa of Vietnam, who needed 13.75 seconds. Singapore’s Binte Zaini Nur Izlyn crossed the finish line after 13.92 seconds to secure bronze.
Before that, Indonesia’s Hendro secured the coveted precious metal in the men’s 20-kilometer walk, which he finished in 1 hour 31 minutes and 20 seconds, closely followed by Xuan Vinh Vo of Vietnam, who finished in 1 hour 31 minutes and 38 seconds. Nyi Nyi Moe Mine of Myanmar finished third in 1 hour 33 minutes and 25 seconds.
