A total of two gold medals, two silver and four bronze medals, prove that Indonesia have given played to the best of their abilities in Asia`s most prestigious sports convention.
The total medals achieved by the Indonesian badminton team even surpassed China`s achievement of six medals, although China did won more gold medals with three.
"The medals that we have won surpassed the target, as previously, we only targeted to win two gold medals and that was it. Although the amount of gold medals met our target, we also won more medals aside from the gold ones," said Manager of the Indonesian Badminton team for the 2018 Asian Games Susi Susanti.
The two gold medals for Indonesia were presented by Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in the men`s doubles number, and Jonatan Christie in the men`s single number.
The gold medal won by Jonatan Christie ended Indonesia`s long wait for another gold medal in the Asian Games, after the last one was won by Taufik Hidayat in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.
Meanwhile, the two silver medals came from the men`s double number, in which Indonesia was represented by Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, as well as the men`s group number.
The bronze medals came from the women`s group number, mixed doubles with Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, women`s double with Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu, and men`s single with Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
Previously, the Indonesian badminton team put a lot of their hope on Indonesia`s seeded numbers which are the mixed doubles with Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, as well as the men`s doubles with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
However, the target for the mixed doubles number did not hit the spot as Tontowi and Liliyana, often identified as Owi and Butet, did not make it pass the semifinal round and ended up with the silver medal.
Marcus and Kevin, however, were able to meet the target of a gold medal, after beating fellow Indonesian duo Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
Susanti even said that the `All Indonesian Final` in the Asian Games was never predicted by anyone.
"After 44 years, finally another ` All Indonesian Final` in the Asian Games men`s double number happened again. This is an achievement," she said.
To her, there are not really any victories or losses in the 2018 Asian Games finals for the men`s doubles number in badminton, as all of the players were Indonesian and were all able to perform the best of their abilities.
While for the mixed doubles number, she continued, the achievement did not meet the target indeed. "However, we definitely did not see it coming from the men`s single number, we even almost had an `All Indonesian Final` there as well," she said.
As for women`s doubles, she said that the bronze medal won was actually on target.
"What we need to especially acknowledge is the performance of the player in the women`s single number, especially Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, even though she has yet to contribute any medals for the singles number," said Susanti.
She further stated that Gregoria played very well in the women`s group number when she was playing as the first individual player and defeated a number of players who were more experienced than her.
At the moment, Gregoria is ranked in the 22nd place in the world and there are no other Indonesian women player with better rankings than her.
"It meant that all sectors or numbers contested in the Asian Games have given us good results," she said.
The number of medals won in badminton in the 2018 Asian Games is also better compared to the last Asian Games four years ago, held in Incheon, South Korea.
The Indonesian badminton team presented one gold medal from the men`s and women`s doubles numbers, one silver medal from the mixed doubles, and one bronze medal from the women`s doubles.
Even though the team ahve obtained quite good results in all numbers, Susanti asked for all players to not be easily satisfied with the results and keep practicing and participating in various competitions to hone their skills and increase their experiences.
She also said that the achievement of an athlete can be measured through the results they get in the Olympics.
"The peak is their achievement in the Olympics and the nearest one is the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo," she said.
However, she continued, to be able to perform in the Olympics, there need to be an extensive preparation, which need to start now.
"The preparations for the Olympics will officially begin next year. Not all athletes can be chosen as there will be a selection process," she added.
Rumbles from Istora
The energy of the 57 year old building seemed to not only boost the confidence of the players themselves, but also the fanatic supporters of badminton that thronged the Istora to give their support to the competing players.
Cheers and chants from thousands of supporters became the mantra for national players to push themselves and play to the most of their abilities.
"There are no supporters like those from Indonesia. They are such extraordinary supporters," said Susi Susanti, who is a renowned badminton legend herself.
Meanwhile, the 2018 Asian Games, adorned by the stellar achievements of badminton athletes, also led to the emergence of the nation`s beloved figures, one of which is Jonatan Christie.
Jonatan, who competed in the men`s single number, gained fame almost overnight for his ritual of taking off and changing his shirt between games, which in return received enthusiastic response from the audience in Istora Senayan.
"We hope that from now, more people will be more aware and more fond of badminton," he said.
Reporter: Eka Arifa and Aria Cindyara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
