The Final Point Of Struggle For The Indonesian Men's Volleyball Team At The 2023 SEA Games, Can It Be A Golden Hattrick?

The Indonesian men's volleyball national team wants to maintain hegemony. (Photo: SMM Volleyball/PBVSI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian men's volleyball national team carried a big mission at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia. The Red and White squad wanted to score a gold medal hat trick, after the previous two titles also won.

The Indonesian men's volleyball national team has confirmed their qualify for the 2023 SEA Games final after defeating Vietnam. Dio Zulfikri and his friends stepped in the final with a 3-0 victory (30-28, 25-19, 25-18).

The final itself will be held today, Monday, May 8. The Indonesian national team will face the host Cambodia, which surprisingly defeated Thailand with a score of 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 25-21, 26-16, 15-10).

This is the second time during the 2023 SEA Games Indonesia has met Cambodia. In the first match in the same place, Saturday, May 6, Indonesia won a landslide victory with a score of 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16).

The opportunity to print a hat-trick does not want to be released. The team continues to process to make that happen.

"We are in the process to arrive in the final. Hopefully we can get the best results," said the coach of the Indonesian men's volleyball team, Jeff Jiang Jie.

The coach from China admitted that to qualify for the final, Indonesia had to fight hard. Moreover, he also rotates in every match. Even at the beginning of the match, he had relied on a young player, Boy Arnez.

However, over time, the coach who brought the Indonesian men's volleyball team to the Vietnam SEA Games gold began to find the right formation even though he did not clearly mention his names.

In the last two matches, Jeff Jiang Jie relied on Hendra Kurniawan, Doni Haryono, Fahri Septian, Rivan Nurmulki, Henta Zulfi and Dio Zulfikri. The libero position took turns between Henry and Rakha.

"We will continue to carry out the rotation according to the team's needs. We will wait for tomorrow's match," he said, as quoted from Antara.

Meanwhile, one of the Indonesian players Rivan Nurmulki will try to give his best. Moreover, he could become part of history if he successfully won the gold medal three times in a row.

"We'll just maximize the match later. What is clear is that I'm still ready if I get the opportunity. But we also realize that getting gold requires hard work and careful preparation," he said.