Through sweat, blood and tears, Indonesia’s athletes battled in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines for the glory of Indonesia

After almost two weeks of competition, Team Indonesia came home with 72 gold medals, 84 silvers and 111 bronzes in the bag.

It claimed fourth place in the medal tally after overall champion and host the Philippines (149 gold, 117 silver, 121 bronze), second-placed Vietnam (98 gold, 85 silver, 105 bronze) and third-placed Thailand (92 gold, 103 silver, 123 bronze).

Indonesia managed to climb into second place on Dec. 7 and 8 only to find that Vietnam caught up in the next day.

Sports glory cannot be built within days.

With limited funding and half-hearted support from the government, which rarely prioritizes sports development, the athletes nonetheless did their best to make their fellow Indonesians proud.

Athletes are often unsung heroes in Indonesia, left to fight their battles alone — getting help only from supporting coaches and sports officials. And for that, we will be forever grateful.

Thank you, champions!

See you next time: Injured Indonesian under-22 soccer player Evan Dimas (second right) greets supporters after the squad lost 3-0 to Vietnam in the final match of the SEA Games at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Tuesday. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

Airborne: Indonesian sepak takraw player Saiful Rijal (right) gets his smash blocked by Myanmar’s Aung Naing Oo during their men’s team final match in the SEA Games at Subic Gymnasium in the Philippines on Dec. 5. Indonesia defeated Myanmar 2-0 to claim the gold medal. (Antara FOTO/Nyoman Budhiana)

Worth the effort: Indonesian bronze medalist Pretty Sihite competes in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase during the SEA Games at New Clark Athletic Stadium in the Philippines on Tuesday. Pretty clocked in at 11 minutes, 05.93 seconds. (Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)

Big blow: Indonesian karateka Rifki Arrosyiid (left) receives a blow from Vietnam’s Nguyen Than Duy in the men’s 60 kilograms kumite during the SEA Games at the World Trade Center in Manila on Sunday. Rifki earned a silver medal after losing 2-1. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

You got this: Indonesian badminton player Apriyani Rahayu (right) returns the shuttle as partner Greysia Polii looks on during their women’s doubles competition against Thailand’s Chayanit Chaladchalam and Phataimas Muenwong (not pictured) in the 2019 SEA Games at the Muntinlupa sports complex in Manila on Monday. The Indonesian pair won the gold medal. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)Golden routine: Indonesia’s gold medalists Edgar Xavier Marvelo, Seraf Naro Siregar and Haris Horatius do their routine in the men’s team wushu duilian during the SEA Games at World Trade Center in Manila on Dec. 3. (Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)