iMSPORT.TV – The Indonesian national rowing team is targeting four gold medals at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, according to a joint evaluation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora).
Indonesian rowing team coach Muhammad Hadris emphasized that the target is realistic after reviewing the performance of the male athletes, who remain the mainstay of the Indonesian national team, and evaluating the results of the Asian Championships in Vietnam on October 16-19.
“Our target is four gold medals, according to the Kemenpora review. In the men’s event, all the events we are targeting are still on track,” Hadris told ANTARA by phone.
Hadris said the results of the 2025 Asian Rowing Championships are the main evaluation material ahead of the SEA Games. In the men’s event, Indonesia still has a significant lead over other Southeast Asian countries.
“For the men, the gap is large. We’ve seen other countries, especially Thailand, seem to have their own strategies in Vietnam by fielding different compositions. But so far, the athletes have been the same, so we know their level,” he said.
The situation is different in the women’s event. Indonesia only narrowly lost to Vietnam in some events, but in others, the time gap is still quite large.
“In the women’s event, some had a one-second difference, some three seconds. That’s realistic to catch up to. But there are also 10 to 15 seconds, which is clearly tough in two months,” Hadris explained.
Also read: Indonesian rowing team acclimatizes in Karawang ahead of the 2025 SEA Games
Therefore, Hadris emphasized the need for a special strategy to boost the performance of the women’s team closer to the gold standard of the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, where Indonesia last won gold in the women’s event through Julianti and Yayah Rokayah in the pairs event.
“We’re focused on narrowing the margin. Even if we lose, it shouldn’t be more than 1-2 seconds. All improvements must be visible before departure,” he said.
SEA Games Thailand: Indonesian Rowing Team Targets 4 Gold Medals
A new challenge arose from the Thailand SEA Games committee’s regulation, which only opened the venue two days before the competition. This policy made Indonesia’s plan to arrive early impossible.
“We wanted to be there on December 8th. But the venue only opened two days before the competition. So, the earliest we could start acclimatizing in the water was the 10th or 11th,” said Haderis.
This situation forced the finalization program to be maximized at Situ Cipule, Karawang. The team had spent a week acclimatizing at Situ Cipule to adjust from training in Pangalengan, which transitions from the highlands to the lowlands.
Indonesia brought 23 athletes, consisting of 13 men and 10 women, to compete in eight classic events and two beach sprint events.
Despite the challenges of rainy weather and restricted access to the arena, Hadris is optimistic that the target of four gold medals remains realistic.
Rowing was last contested at the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam. Indonesia finished second in the medal standings with 8 gold and 6 silver medals, only 2 bronze medals behind the host nation, which won the most medals.
At the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, rowing was not contested.
(adm/amr)
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