Rock Climbing Wins Helped Maintain Gold Target

The "Indonesia Raya" national anthem reverberated through the Jakabaring Sport City in Palembang, South Sumatra. Indonesian female rock climbers Aries Susanti Rahayu and Puji Lestari competed in an all-Indonesian finals in women’s speed on Thursday evening.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Indonesia athlete Aries Susanti Rahayu (left) races against compatriot Puji Lestari in the 2018 Asian Games women’s speed climbing final on Thursday (23/8/2018) at the Rock Climbing Arena of Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang, South Sumatra. Aries defeated Puji to claim the gold, while China athlete He Cuilian took home the bronze medal.

PALEMBANG, KOMPAS – The "Indonesia Raya" (Great Indonesia) national anthem reverberated through the Jakabaring Sport City (JSC) in Palembang, South Sumatra. Indonesian female rock climbers Aries Susanti Rahayu and Puji Lestari competed in an all-Indonesian finals in women’s speed on Thursday (23/8/2018) evening. At the medal ceremony, two red-and-white flags were hoisted on the two tallest staffs.

“Our victories are for Indonesia,” Aries said after the medal ceremony.

Aries won gold and Puji won silver in their event, while Aspar Jailolo clinched the bronze in men’s speed rock climbing. Aspar suffered a dramatic defeat at the hands of China\'s Zhong Qiqin in the semifinal with a gap of only 0.01 second.  Zhong advanced to the final after finishing in 5.64 seconds while Aspar finished in 5.65 seconds. In the quest for the bronze medal, Aspar defeated fellow Indonesian Sabri, who was disqualified after a false start.

The three additional medals from rock climbing contributed to Indonesia’s medal tally of eight  golds, six silvers and 10 bronzes. The host nation remains in fifth position in the medal standings, after China, Japan, South Korea and Iran.

On Thursday, the fifth day of the 2018 Asian Games, Indonesia snatched two golds, two silvers and three bronzes. Indonesian paragliders won two medals in accuracy events, namely one gold by Jafro Megawanto in men’s individual and one bronze by Rika Wijayanti in women’s individual.

In rowing, which held eight final events on the day, Indonesia snatched one silver and one bronze. Rowers Ali Buton, Ferdiansyah, Ihram and Ardi Isadi won silver in men’s lightweight four, in which China won gold. Yayah Rokayah and Julianti won bronze in women’s pairs.

Indonesian athletes have worked hard to maintain Indonesia’s position in the top 5. The host nation is also halfway to reaching the government’s target of snatching 16 golds. As of the fifth day, nine sports have contributed medals. Wushu, rock climbing, taekwondo, weightlifting and paragliding have fulfilled their gold targets.

This has boosted the government’s optimism of the nation achieving a target of 16 golds. Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who chairs the 2018 Asian Games steering committee, said he appreciated the athletes’ achievements that had heightened the nation’s spirit and optimism. “We are optimistic that we will stay in the top 10 and that we can even surpass [our target],” Kalla said at the VP’s office on Thursday.

Optimism has also been boosted by athletes’ undying fighting spirit, as was shown by shuttler Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who fought with all his strength despite suffering cramps in his left leg. “Winning or losing is not the priority. What’s important is the spirit. It just has been extraordinary. Anthony Ginting, for instance, was extraordinary. He was injured and he kept getting back up,” Kalla said.

President Joko  Widodo shared Kalla\'s optimism. He said athletes’ achievements in the 2018 Asian Games had been in line with the target. “We set out to be in the top 10. If we finished at rank 8, Alhamdulillah [praise God]. Our target is just to crack the top 10. In the 2014 Asian Games, we were at 17^th,” the President told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.

Fastest

Aries\' and Puji’s achievements in clinching gold and silver in women’s speed climbing were impressive. In the qualifier, the two booked 7.84 seconds and 8.19 seconds, respectively, making them the fastest and second fastest athletes.

The third and fourth position were taken by China\'s He Cuilian and Song Yiling. Like Aries and Puji, the Chinese duo remained unbeatable all the way to the quarterfinal.

In the semifinal, Song Yiling conceded defeat to Aries, a world cup medalist in Chongqing, China, in May. Puji defeated He Cuilian, resulting in an all-Indonesian final.

In the final, Aries finished in 7.61 seconds and Puji in 7.98 seconds. After the match, the two female climbers hugged and prostrated in unison on stage.

Aspar said that Indonesia’s gold, silver and bronze in rock climbing were the result of hard work for 1.5 years. With the long preparations, Aspar said the athletes would not stop at winning the Asian Games.

“Our dream is for the Olympics and world championships. The Asian Games are just a transit point. We hope the big family of Indonesian rock climbers, including athletes, coaches and federation officials, will remain solid so we can achieve this,” Aries said.

Indonesian rock climbing head coach Caly Setiawan said it was hoped that Aswar would win the silver in men’s speed climbing. However, he was defeated by a Chinese climber with a tiny gap in the semifinal. As for women’s speed climbing, Caly said he had hoped for an all-Indonesian final.

“Today, we got one gold. Hopefully, we’ll get another one in the speed relay events,” coach Hendra Basir said.

(RAM/SAH/NTA/LAS)