Indonesian Athletes Grab Two More Gold Medals

Maria Natalia Londa and the men’s 4x100 m relay secured two more gold medals in 2023 Cambodia Sea Games.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Maria Natalia Londa runs while holding the Indonesian flag after winning the women's long jump match in the 2023 SEA Games final at Morodok Techo National Stadium, Wednesday (10/5/2023). She won a gold medal with a jump record of 6.28 meters.

PHNOM PENH, KOMPAS – Athletes from the Indonesian contingent have secured two more gold medals, one by Maria Natalia Londa in the long jump and the other by the men’s 4x100-meter relay team. Thanks to these two victories, Indonesian athletes have now won six gold medals at Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as of Wednesday (10/5/2023).

Maria (32) has proven to be the best long jumper in Southeast Asia by recording a jump of 6.28 meters. She beat Vietnamese athlete Thi Thu Thao Bui, who won silver with a jump of 6.13 meters.

This is Maria's fourth long jump gold at the SEA Games. Maria also won gold at the 2013, 2015 and 2019 SEA Games.

“This achievement is not my best, but with this gold medal, my hard work over the last few years have paid off,” Maria said.

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In the men’s 4x100 m relay, the Indonesian team of Adith Rico Pradana, Bayu Kertanegara, Lalu Muhammad Zohri and Sudirman Hadi won gold with a time of 39.110 seconds. Indonesia outperformed the Thai team, which recorded a time of 39.130 seconds.

Indonesia has finally won gold in this event after 12 years, the last time being at the 2011 SEA Games hosted by Indonesia.

“We aimed for the [Indonesian] contingent to win five gold medals, but now we’ve won six. We still have more opportunities in the next few days,” said Musatara Musa, manager of the National Athletics Training Center.

ANTARA/MUHAMMAD ADIMAJA

Indonesian men's runner Lalu Muhammad Zohri (center) competes against Thai runner Puripol Boonson (right) and Singaporean runner Mark Lee Ren in the 200 meters SEA Games 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday (8/5/2023). Zohri won a bronze medal.

Indonesian martial arts

In the Indonesian martial art pencak silat, the Indonesian team won seven gold medals in 16 sparring events. In total, the Indonesian pencak silatteam won nine gold medals.

Competing at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center in Phnom Penh, Indonesian martial artists appeared in the last 12 events. Everyone performed with enthusiasm, but five martial artists had to settle for silver medals.

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Iqbal Candra Pratama, who competed in the men’s 70-75 kilogram event, won Indonesia’s first gold medal in a landslide victory over Malaysian athlete Mohd Shahrul Zeckery with a final score of 37-3.

“This year, we were thoroughly prepared. In Vietnam, we were still experimenting with various new regulations. After that, we also took part in the world championship. So our preparations were quite thorough,” said Iqbal.

In the class B women’s match, Indonesian martial artist Safira Dwi Meilani was disqualified while leading 61-43. The match was stopped with only 18 seconds left because the referee deemed that Safira had violated the rule on locking an opponent.

“If it was deemed a lock, then that is not true because there is a process for locking. Maybe there were other considerations, such as seeing that the [opponent] was unable to move passively. Safira’s kicks and punches were still good. If it was painful, then it was because of a shoulder dislocation,” said Indro Catur, head coach of the Indonesian pencak silat team.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Iqbal Candra Pratama (right) won his first gold in the SEA Games Cambodia 2023 match, Chroy Changvar Convention Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Wednesday (10/5/2023).

After the Indonesian team appealed to the referee and the committee, Safira was able to bring home the gold medal she had fought hard for. Vietnamese athlete Hoang Hong An Nguyen, who went up against Safira, also won gold.

“I am proud of the team’s achievements. They have worked hard,” said Indro.

Apart from Iqbal and Safira, the pencak silat team secured five more gold medals, which were won by Jeni Elvis Kause, Khoirudin Mustakim, Atifa Fismawati, Muhammad Zaki Zikrillah Prasong and Tito Hendra Septa Kurnia.

I am proud of the team’s achievements. They have worked hard.

In total, Indonesia won nine gold, six silver and one bronze medals. Apart from the seven gold medals from the sparring event, two gold medals were obtained from the artistic event. With these achievements, Indonesia emerged as the overall champion in the martial arts branch at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games.

“This affirms Indonesia’s position as a world leader in martial arts,” said the Indonesian Team Chef de Mission for the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, Lexyndo Hakim.

Wushu

Meanwhile, in wushu, taolu athlete Harris Horatius won silver for the Indonesian contingent. Harris placed second in the Nanquan event with a score of 9.55 points. The gold medal was won by Mohd. Adi Salihin Roslan from Brunei Darussalam with 9.63 points, while Nong Van Huu from Vietnam won the bronze medal with 9.54 points.

As a result, the Indonesian wushu team brought home two silver medals after Tasya Ayu Puspa Dewi won second place in the women’s Nanquan event.

“I am grateful to win silver. This is beyond my expectations, as I did my very best,” said Harris.

Apart from Harris, SEA Games debutant Tasya Ayu Puspa Dewi also won silver. She admitted that she was happy and surprised by the results.

“This is the first time I’ve participated in a multisport championship. Before this, I have only competed at the university level,” she said.

Tasya will continue to compete in other events and hopes to give her best for Indonesia. She also hopes that other top athletes, such as Seraf Nero or Edgar Xavier Marvelo, will win gold in the Daoshu and Gunshu events.

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.