"Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), we are very happy we can be the general champion, following esports, cycling, to tennis in which we also became the general champion," Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo remarked.
"This proves that Indonesia greatly struggles in fighting for gold medals until it can become the general champion," he noted at the Morodok Techo National Stadium here on Tuesday.
In total, the Indonesian badminton team contributed five gold, two silver, and three bronze medals during the 2023 SEA Games.
The five gold medals were bagged by the men's team, mixed doubles pair Rehan and Lisa, women's doubles pair Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi and Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma, men's singles player Christian Adinata, and men's doubles pair Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan and Pramudya Kusumawardana.
Meanwhile, silver medals were bagged by women's doubles pair Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari and Rachel Allessya Rose and men's singles player Chico Aura.
In addition, the women's singles players Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi and Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo bagged bronze as well as the men's doubles pair Bagas Maulana and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.
The victory clocked by Rambitan and Kusumawardana contributed significantly to Indonesia being the biggest medal earner in the SEA Games' sports branch.
The Indonesian men's doubles athletes won over Thai men's doubles pair Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsaku in two direct sets of 21-17 and 21-19.
"This improves our confidence. We had negative thoughts after the comeback. We expect that this will motivate us to become even better," Kusumawardana stated.
Meanwhile, as per Tuesday at 4:28 p.m. local time, Indonesia managed to clinch a total of 252 medals comprising 84 gold, 71 silver, and 97 bronze medals.
This achievement enables Indonesia to stand strong in the third place in the temporary standings, right below Vietnam and Thailand.
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Translator: Arnidhya Nur Z, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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