Indonesian Rowing Team Optimistic To Add Medals At Hangzhou Asian Games

Indonesian men's rowers Memo (left) and Ihram (right) celebrated after reaching the finish line in the final number Doubles Sculls Asian Games 2022 at Fuyang Water Sports Center, Hangzhou, China, Sunday (24/9/2023). BETWEEN PHOTO/Hafidz Mubarak A/YU

JAKARTA - The Indonesian rowing team has the opportunity to add to the Hangzhou Asian Games medal on the last day of the final match from the men's quadruple scalls number. Coach Muhammad Hadris said the Red and White Team wanted to repeat their achievements in the previous edition of the Asian Games in Jakarta, namely bringing home a silver medal from the quad number. Meanwhile, in the four final matches that took place at the Fuyang Waters Sports Center, Sunday, September 24, the Indonesian rowing team brought home three bronze medals in the midst of a fairly tight competition with the Uzbekistan and India teams as well as the strength of the home team. "Today the bronze is already three, hopefully tomorrow we can give our best," Hadris said as quoted by Antara. Indonesia has three final matches, namely in men's quadruple numbers, women's quadruple scamls, and men's four when the home team won six gold medals from all the numbers they participated in today. "If you look at the situation tomorrow, it will still be the same as today. China is still our toughest opponent candidate," said Hadris, who found the Bamboo Curtain country deploying their entire main rowing team in Hangzhou. "But, we are optimistic that we will win medals, especially in the men's quad because during the Asian Games in Jakarta we got silver," said Hadris. Indonesia also has sweet achievements by bringing home silver from the men's lightweight cowless four number when they hosted the Asian Games, but in Hangzhou the number changed the class from a light boat to a heavy men's four. First Three Bronzes The first bronze for the Indonesian rowing team as well as the first medal for the Red and White Contingent was presented by Chelsea Corputty and Mutiara Rahma Putri from the lightweight women's double scandals contested at the Fuyang Waters Sports Center on a fairly sunny day. "This result is beyond our expectations... We have practiced very hard and it was not in vain. We have to be confident in all the training we have undertaken," said Mutiara after celebrating on the podium. Chelsea and Mutiara were left in fourth place before overtaking Iran's Kimia Zarei/Nazanin Malaei in the last minute to occupy the podium with the winner of the number, namely the host pair Jiaqi Zhou/Xiuping Qiu and Uzbekistan finishing second in the silver medal. Ihram and Memo almost brought home silver for Indonesia if the Uzbekistan team had not overtaken the men's double scills finish line, which the Chinese team also won. Eight rowers in the Men's Eight number also stuck tight with China after the start. However, Rifqi Harits Taufiqurahman et al. were unable to maintain their position after being overtaken by the Indian team and almost lost the podium if they did not reply to the attack from Uzbekistan ahead of finishing to bring home bronze for Indonesia. Hong Kong stole a gold medal when there was no Chinese representative in the men's pair number.