Champion Maturation Process

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Indonesian sprinter Lalu Muhammad Zohri (center) competes in the Asian Games men\'s 100-meter run final at Bung Karno Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta, Sunday (26/8/2018). Zohri clocked in at 10.20 seconds and finished at seventh place. Gold was won by the Chinese runner Su Bingtian (right).

Optimism was revived in Indonesian athletics when two gold medals were won at the Asian Athletics Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The two gold medals came from two athletes: Lalu Muhammad Zohri and Sapwaturrahman. Zohri, an Indonesian athletic star, won the gold medal in the men’s 100 meters, clocking in at 10:20 seconds. Meanwhile, Sapwaturrahman, competing in the championship that ended on Saturday (March 30, 2019), won gold medal with a 7.97-meter jump.

These two gold are a good sign ahead of the Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar, in April. Zohri and Sapwaturrahman’s achievements have led to the belief that Indonesian athletic athletes are able to compete at the Asian level, not only just within Southeast Asia.

In addition to Malaysia, a positive result was also achieved by the Indonesian team competing at the Singapore Open Championship from March 28 to 29, 2019. In Singapore, the “Red and White” team won two gold, two silver and three bronze. The achievement was better than last year, with two gold, two silver and two bronze.

Not long ago, at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games, Indonesian athletics won one of their best achievements by winning the men’s silver 4x100 meters run. The Red and White Quartet, which consists of Zohri, M. Ahmad Fadlin, Eko Rimbawan and Bayu Kertanegara, became the second-fastest to reach the finish line after the Japanese team. Zohri and his friends clocked in at 38:77 seconds. This achievement was like an oasis for the men\'s 4x100 meters relay team, which last won silver at the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games.

In contrast to badminton and weightlifting, sports that often find success at the world stage, Indonesian athletics is considerably harder to excel in at the Asian level, let alone the world. At the 2018 Asia Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar, India, for example, the top five final standings for medals were dominated by host India at the top, followed by China, then Kazakhstan, Iran and Vietnam.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Indonesian relay runners (from left to right) Bayu Kertanegara, Eko Rimbawan, Lalu Muhammad Zohri and Fadlin celebrate after the men\'s athletic 4 x 100 meter relay run final during the 2018 Asian Games at Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Thursday (30/8/2018). The Indonesian men\'s team finished second and won a silver medal. First position was occupied by Japan and in third was China.

At the world level, Indonesia’s best athletic achievement was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 35 years ago. At that time, sprinter Purnomo, who has recently died, reached the 100-meter semifinal. After that, no other sprinter matched that achievement.

In the sports arena there are no instant achievements. No champion is born fast. Therefore, the rise of Zohri as a champion in Asia also needs a process and takes time. Last year, Zohri clocked in at 10:18 seconds, winning the men’s 100 meters U-20 Athletics World Championship in Finland.

Zohri’s time in Kuala Lumpur, which was 0.02 seconds slower than his record in Finland, still showed Zohri’s weakness in anticipating when to take off from the start line. Likewise, Sapwaturrahman was provoked by emotions at the line. These weaknesses must be seriously addressed.

Such is the championship maturation process. Over time there has always been improvement. The public needs to be patient in waiting for the birth of a champion, as do the trainer, the coach, and the athletes themselves.