2023 Asian Games Results: Dragon Boat Adds 2 Silver, while PBSI Misses Their Target

Dragon boats present two silver medals on the 12th day of the 2023 Asian Games. (Photo: Twitter/@kemenpora)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian contingent succeeded in adding to its medal tally on the 12th day of the 2023 Asian Games. This time it came from the dragon boat sport, where they won two silver medals.

The two opening medals on Thursday, October 5 were won by the men's and women's dragon boat teams. In the women's 500 meters, the Red and White team finished second after China when appearing at the WZ Dragon Boat Center.

In their appearance in the final, the women's dragon boat team occupied line 4. Efforts to be the fastest faced a tough challenge because the Indonesian team was flanked by the hosts, China and North Korea.

Even so, Indonesia was able to finish the battle well because it came out as runner up and won a silver medal. This achievement is a significant record because at the 2018 Asian Games, when they hosted the women's 500-meter dragon boat team, they failed to win a medal.

The men's dragon boat team also didn't want to lose in providing offerings for Indonesia. Dedi Saputra and the team that competed in the 500 meters managed to finish the match in second place.

In the match at the WZ Dragon Boat Center, the men's team managed to record a time of 2 minutes 09.165 seconds. This record is only 0.013 seconds behind China, which is in first place.

In the men's 500-meter dragon boat final, Indonesia was in lane 4. The Red and White Team was flanked by hosts China and Thailand.

The contrasting results were felt by the sport of badminton. Even though it has not yet reached the final round, Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI)'s target of winning three gold medals at the 2023 Asian Games has failed.

This is because of the three representatives who appeared in the quarter-finals on Thursday, October 5, there are only two names remaining who are not certain to qualify for the semifinals.

The first seeded men's doubles, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian, opened Indonesia's performance today. However, when facing Chinese representatives, Fajar/Rian failed to win.

Appearing at the Binjing Gymnasium, China Fajar/Rian surrendered in two straight games with a final score of 19-21 and 18-21. This defeat meant they were eliminated from the race for the gold title.

Of the three representatives, now only Anthony Ginting and Gregoria Mariska are left with the hope in the singles number. This also reduces Indonesia's previous target of bringing home three gold medals from China.