Diananda-Ega Dynamic Duo Contributes Five Golds to RI’s Medals Tally

Kompas/Priyombodo

The victory celebration of Indonesian men’s race walker Hendro in the final of the men’s 20,000-meter category of the SEA Games race walking event in Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday (22/8). Hendro won the gold medal after finishing with the fastest time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and 11 seconds.

KUALA LUMPUR, KOMPAS – Indonesian archery duo Diananda Choirunisa and Riau Ega Agata Salsabila won gold at the mixed doubles’ recurve finals at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games in Kuala Lumpur Sport City on Tuesday (22/8/2017).

Diananda and Ega won 5-3 against Malaysian pair Nur Aliya Ghapar and Khairul A Mohammad. It was the national archery team’s fourth gold in the biennial sports event and one of five golds Indonesia secured at the event on Tuesday.

Diananda and Ega breezed through the quarterfinals and semifinals on Tuesday morning. At the quarterfinals, Diananda and Ega won 6-0 against Laos duo Kaboksy Jen and Onmanee Soulivong. At the semifinals, Diananda and Ega beat Vietnam’s Chu Duc Anh and Thi Phuong Nguyen, also 6-0.

Ega clinched gold in the men’s doubles recurve event at the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore. On Sunday (20/8), however, he was defeated by Myanmar’s Htike Lin Oo in the 16^th round of the men’s single recurve.

“The arrow rest of Ega’s bow was fractured and his aim swayed. It could not be replaced mid-event as the new arrow rest needed to be aligned first. Today, we saw that Ega has bounced back,” head coach Denny Trisjanto said on Tuesday.

In the finals, Diananda and Ega won the first set, 2-0. However, the Aliya-Khairul pair was a tough opponent. The second and third sets resulted in a draw, bringing the score to 4-2 for Indonesia.

The fourth set, the last set in the game, became a decisive moment for both pairs. If Aliya and Kahirul won the set, they would get two points and the final score would be 4-4. However, if the set resulted in a draw, Indonesia would win 5-3.

Khairul’s first arrow got him the perfect score of 10 and Aliya’s first arrow got her a 9. The Malaysian supporters went wild when Diananda’s first shot bagged him an 8. The crowd went wilder as Ega’s arrow only resulted in an 8.

Amid the tension, it was Khairul’s turn again to shoot. He got an 8. Next, it was Aliya’s final arrow and she got a 7, bringing the total score of 34 for Malaysia.

When Diananda and Ega each bagged a 9, Indonesia gained a final score of 34. With the tie in the fourth set, Indonesia emerged victorious with a set point of 5-3.

Denny said that the willingness of the Satlak Prima sports task force to listen to athletes was key to Indonesia’s victory, “Especially when we proposed to add more athletes just two months before the Games.”

“Sri Ranti, who won gold, just joined with us in June,” he said.

Other than archery, Indonesia won four more gold medals thanks to Juwita Niza Wasni (wushu), M Naufal Mahardika (shooting), Srunita Sari S (karate) and Hendro (athletic, men’s 20-kilometer fast walking).

Hendro won his event in 1 hour, 32 minutes and 11.27 seconds. He broke a previous SEA Games fast walking record booked by Malaysian Narinder Singh Harbans Singh (1 hour, 33 minutes and 47.87 seconds).