Indonesia's first gold in Sydney

Indonesia's first gold in Sydney

By Primastuti Handayani

SYDNEY (JP): Men's badminton doubles Candra Wijaya and Tony
Gunawan lived up to their world number one status, lifting their
struggling nation to an Olympic gold medal on Thursday.

Not only did the victory end a long wait, it maintained
Indonesia's gold medal winning tradition in the Olympic Games
dating back to the memorable twin victories of Susi Susanti and
her boyfriend Alan Budikusuma in Barcelona eight years ago.

Tony and Candra, who emulated their seniors Rexy Mainaky and
Ricky Subagdja, were pushed to the limit in dousing the fire of
South Korean archrivals and second seeds Lee Dong-soo and Yoo
Yong-sung 15-10, 9-15, 15-7 in a marathon final lasting 77
minutes.

The bronze also went to South Korea, with world champions Ha
Tae-Kwon and Kim Dong-Moon ending Malaysia's hopes of a 2000
Olympic badminton medal.

Draped in the national flag, Candra and Tony rounded the court
in a victory lap amid cheers from spectators. For a moment, the
Dome's Pavilion 3 at Sydney's Olympic sports complex resembled
the Senayan indoor stadium in Jakarta.

Tony broke into tears as chef de mission Arie Sudewo and the
Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) chairman Subagyo
Hadisiswoyo greeted them in the changing room.

President Abdurrahman Wahid congratulated the men's doubles
team for their win "which brings fame to the nation" and the
country's female weightlifters Raesma Lisa Rumbewas and Winarni
who snatched a bronze each earlier this week.

The success soothed the pain Indonesia had earlier suffered
after the mixed doubles team of Tri Kusharjanto and Minarti Timur
fell in the final hurdles, bowing out to Chinese newcomers Zhang
Jun and Gao Ling 15-1, 13-15, 15-11 in 64 minutes.

"I can't believe it. God blessed me. I have dedicated my life
to the sport and I deserved this. All I have in my mind is to
present a gold to Indonesia," an emotional Candra said.

"Winning an Olympic gold is every athlete's dream. I still
can't believe it. It's like a dream. We didn't think of strategy
on court, we just knew we had the motivation and a better
fighting spirit than our contenders," Tony said.

Head coach Christian Hadinata agreed, also attributing his
prodigies' victory to their fighting spirit.

"Both teams are equal in terms of technical skills, and had
often met in regular competitions before," said Christian, one of
Indonesia's living legends of badminton.

The duo will receive a cash bonus of Rp 1 billion (US$1.25
million) each from the company that produces the drink Extra
Joss.

After a relatively easy win in the opening set, Candra and
Tony quickly fell behind in the second game. Trailing 3-8, they
closed in to 7-8 before the Koreans mounted attacks to force
extra time.

In the do-or-die decider, Candra and Tony comfortably led 10-4
and looked as if they would clinch the match after holding a
match point at 14-6. The Koreans delivered a brief scare before
the composed Indonesians sealed the drama.

Indonesia could seize another gold with Hendrawan, who will
play his men's singles semifinal match against Xie Xuanze of
China on Friday. Having met three times before, the Chinese
player holds a 2-1 win-loss record against Hendrawan.

In the mixed doubles, Tri spoiled his chance of winning the
gold medal as a farewell gift to partner Minarti when they failed
to overcome the offensive pressure from Chinese Zhang Jun and Gao
Ling.

The Indonesians, who upstaged their English opponents after a
set and 1-10 down in Wednesday's semifinals, displayed a superb
comeback after falling 3-11 behind in the deciding set of their
final. They failed to repeat this performance during the final
against the Chinese despite scoring seven straight points before
a smash and a lucky net cord from the Chinese ended their gamely
fight.

"Just as the Chinese pair started to fight back in the second
game, we began to lose our confidence and that made me unable to
unleash smashes. In the third game, they were more confident than
us," a dejected Tri said.

Coach Richard Mainaky said the result was much better than the
Atlanta Olympics four years ago when the Indonesian pair bowed
out to South Koreans Kim Dong-moon and Gil Yoong-ah in the
quarterfinals.

"They were very close to the victory. It's good they could
reach the final but I'm satisfied with the result although we
only won the silver," Richard said.