Skills to Endure Pain Lead Edgar Xavier Marvelo to Win Silver Number "Changquan"

Edgar Xavier, an Indonesian wushu athlete, showed extraordinary fighting power at the Hangzhou Asian Games. He was able to provide the first silverware for Indonesia even though he had not fully recovered from nerve constriction.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Jurus Menahan Sakit Mengantarkan Edgar Xavier Marvelo Raih Perak Nomor ”Changquan”

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Edgar Xavier Marvelo, an Indonesian wushu athlete who competed in the men's changquan event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, greeted the audience at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Center in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang Province, China, Sunday (24/9/2023). Edgar won silver with a score of 9.786, while gold was won by Chinese wushu athlete Sun Peiyuan with a score of 9.840 and bronze was won by Macau's wushu athlete.

HANGZHOU, KOMPAS — The wushu contingent presented the first silver medal for Indonesia at the Hangzhou Asian Games, China 2022. The silver was donated by Edgar Xavier Marvelo in the changquan competition, aka northern style empty hand moves.

The medal also represents a meaningful achievement for Edgar, who has not fully recovered from his surgery on the back part of his hip due to nerve constriction.

"I am grateful to be able to defend my silver medal in the Asian Games despite the many setbacks and obstacles that I had to go through. A month before the 2022 Asian Games, I had to undergo a back hip surgery because there was a pinched nerve that left me unable to stand after the Universiade in Chengdu (China last July)," said Edgar after the competition held at Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre in Hangzhou on Sunday (24/9/2023).

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In the competition, Edgar got the last turn out of a total of 14 participants. After the calm initial moves, Edgar executed a powerful vertical kick that resonated throughout the room, just in front of his face. Then, he prepared to make a 360-degree jump and spin that ended with a smooth landing. The audience applauded Edgar for successfully performing the relatively challenging move.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Edgar Xavier Marvelo, Indonesian wushu athlete, in action in the men's changquan number at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Center in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China, Sunday (24/9/2023). Edgar won silver with a score of 9.786, while gold was won by Chinese wushu athlete, Sun Peiyuan, with a score of 9.840 and bronze was won by Macau wushu athlete, Chi Kuan Song with a score of 9.760.

The allure of Edgar has not ended. Shortly after, he increased speed to execute a backflip followed by a 360-degree spin jump. He smoothly completed all of the movements and garnered applause from the audience.

At the end of his performance, Edgar tried to slow down a little before executing his most acrobatic move, the double backflip jump like a spinning wheel. The audience erupted into a louder applause as Edgar successfully completed the most difficult move out of all the ones he had prepared. After a series of closing moves, Edgar ended his turn calmly and elegantly while giving respect to the judges and the audience.

Before leaving the competition field, Edgar showed a gesture of his fist as if lifting a dumbbell. Apparently, he believed that what he did was already optimal and could produce good results.

I was initially doubtful that I could deliver a good result in the Asian Games. However, thanks to the moral support from my closest loved ones, starting from my parents, girlfriend, friends, and coaching and management team, my self-confidence was restored. (Edgar Xavier)

It turns out that what Edgar predicted was in line with reality. The judges awarded him a total score of 9,786 points, placing him second out of a total of 14 participants. As a result, Edgar was entitled to bring home a silver medal, which was his second in the same event at the Asian Games, following the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 edition.

Overall, the Group A jury or the technical assessment jury team gave Edgar a perfect score of 5.00 points, meaning that all moves were executed dynamically, continuously, and flawlessly. The Group B jury or the movement interpretation evaluation team gave him a score of 2.786 points, which suggests that all moves were performed with full energy and convincing expression. The Group C jury or the jump evaluation team also awarded him a perfect score of 2.00 points, meaning that all jumps were executed up to the highest standards.

There were a total of 10 jumps performed by Edgar during his approximately 1 minute and 30 second performance. He narrowly lost to the host athlete, Sun Peiyuan, who scored 9.840 points. Sun is Edgar's longtime rival who also defeated him at the 2018 Asian Games. Conversely, Edgar narrowly outperformed Macau's athlete, Song Chi Kuan, who received a score of 9.760 points.

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Edgar could not hold back his emotions after securing the silver medal. He gritted his teeth while raising both hands to the sky before dropping to his knees and crying of joy at the edge of the field. This was all due to his sacrifice in overcoming injuries, operations, and recovery time before achieving the silver.

"After the surgery, the pain in my lower back started to return. In fact, I was unsure if I could give a good performance in the Asian Games. However, thanks to the moral support from my loved ones, including my parents, girlfriend, friends, and the coaching team and management, my self-confidence was boosted to try and bring out all of my best abilities. Even with the adrenaline rushing, I was finally able to complete the most difficult move in my performance, which was the double backwards somersault that I last did two months ago at the Universiade," said Edgar.

Feeling relieved

The Secretary-General of the Indonesian Wushu Association, Ngatino Mento Salim, watched Edgar's performance from the stands with a sense of hopeful anxiety. Ngatino appeared to breathe a sigh of relief when Edgar successfully completed several moves that could cause pain in his lower back, including a 360-degree spinning jump and a backflip jump.

"That is the two most difficult movements for Edgar at the moment and those are the movements that can give a high score. I am grateful that Edgar was able to complete everything well," he said.

According to Ngatino, Edgar is an athlete who never gives up. He has great determination in striving for the best achievement despite his less-than-ideal physical condition. Therefore, Ngatino hopes that Edgar's achievement can inspire other Indonesian wushu athletes to contribute medals for Indonesia.

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The government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports is targeting wushu to win at least one gold at the 2022 Asian Games. "In essence, all of our wushu athletes (a total of 12 athletes) have the opportunity to win gold. But, indeed, Harris Horatius has the greatest opportunity. "Harris will appear in his flagship numbers, nanquan (southern empty hand moves) and nando/nangun (southern style stick moves)," concluded Ngatino .

Overall, the silver was the third medal for Indonesia, after the rowing team presented two bronzes, namely from the women's pair Chelsea Corputty/Mutiara Rahma Putri in the lightweight double sculls number and the pair Ihram /Memo on double sculls.