Despite Losing In The Preliminary, Melani-Mutiara Still Has A Chance To The Semifinals Of The Tokyo Olympic Rowing Sports
JAKARTA - The women's rowing pair, Melani Putri and Mutiara Rahma Putri, won sixth place in the preliminary round of the Lightweight Double Sculls (LWX2) rowing sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They failed in the preliminary round.
However, the coach of the Indonesian Rowing National Team, Muhammad Hadris, sees Melani and Mutiara still have the opportunity to advance to the semifinals through a special replay for athletes who lost in the first round on Sunday.
"There is still a chance that Melani/Mutiara will advance to semifinals A or B. The condition is that they must enter the top three in the replay," Hadris said in his statement, Saturday, July 24.
It is known that in the preliminary round which was held at Sea Forest Water Way in Tokyo, Japan, today, Melani/Mutiara recorded a time of 7 minutes 52.57 seconds. The time they recorded was below their best time of 7 minutes 35.71 seconds ever made at the same place.
"Yes, they couldn't reach their best time because the wind was too strong from the left which resulted in the boat's speed being not optimal. Hopefully the wind conditions can be better and they can record the maximum time," he said.
Continuing, Deputy Chairperson of PB PODSI Budiman said that the matches that Melani-Mutiara faced in the Tokyo Olympics could at least add to their experience. Because, they are the first to appear to face world-class rowers.
"This is the first time they have appeared in the Olympics and the opponents they face are also world-class rowers. The chances of winning a medal are quite heavy. So, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is a place to gain valuable experience," said Budiman.
After the Olympics, said Budiman, Melani-Mutiara will be prepared to face the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games which will be postponed in 2022 and the 2022 Asian Games in China.
"After returning from Tokyo, they will return to undergo a training program for the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games and China 2022 Asian Games. And, we hope they can win medals," he concluded.