Indonesia Looks to Dominate China in Wushu and Rowing
Ami Afriatni | November 07, 2010
Indonesia’s national dragon boat team has dominated lately, taking four gold medals at the 2008 Asian Beach Games. (Photo courtesy of Herman Syah)
What are the odds of Indonesia pulling off victory in traditional Chinese sports at the Asian Games?
Judging by the results churned out lately by Indonesia’s teams in wushu and dragon-boat rowing, they’re definitely no long shots.
Their respective national federations are fielding teams that have won virtually every major international competition in the last two years, making them one of the favorites to win it all in Guangzhou, China.
“I just came back from China where our team has been training for three weeks, and I really like our chances in the Asiad,” Iwan Kwok, the national wushu team’s head coach, said last week.
What makes the wushu and the rowing teams’ gold-medal quest unique, however, is that their sports are deeply entrenched in the very country that will be hosting this month’s Asian Games.
Wushu, a form of martial arts loosely referred to as kung fu, and dragon-boat rowing trace their origins to China, where their development is believed to have spanned centuries.
Now, Indonesia aims to achieve Asian recognition by dominating the two sports right at the heart of their homeland.
Talk about going deep into enemy territory.
“Playing in China isn’t and shouldn’t be a big deal,” Iwan said. “Our team competed in the World Combat Games in Beijing [on Aug. 28-Sept. 4], and part of that was getting used to the kind of atmosphere we expect to face come the Asian Games.”
Given their track record nothing should intimidate Indonesia’s top two wushu athletes, Susyana Tjhan and Lindswell Kwok, in Guangzhou.
Susyana medaled at least once in the last five editions of the Southeast Asian Games, winning nine overall including three golds that came in 2001, ’05 and ’09.
In the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, the 25-year-old became only the second Indonesian to earn a place on the podium in the quadrennial event.
Her silver-medal finish in the changquan category (long fist) was the country’s second Asiad medal in the sport since Jaenab also took silver in the 1998 Games in Bangkok.
“Susyana has what it takes to give us a medal. I don’t know what color it will be, but a top three finish is realistic,” national wushu team manager Ngatino said.
Ngatino has higher hopes though for 20-year-old Lindswell, who stunned the international wushu community by clinching the gold in the tajiquan category (ultimate fist) at the 2009 World Championships in Canada.
Lindswell’s other achievements include a gold-medal finish at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Bali, and silver at the 2009 SEA Games in Laos.
But Wushu Indonesia (PBWI) is pointing to its success at the World Combat Games this year as the main reason for its optimism ahead of the Asian Games.
Susyana earned a bronze, while Lindswell copped two gold medals at the WGC held in Beijing.
“If Lindswell maintains her current form, I don’t know why she can’t bring home the gold from the Asian Games,” Iwan said.
The Indonesian Rowing, Canoeing, Kayaking and Dragon Boat Association (Podsi) has also set lofty goals for the Asian Games, with an eye on the gold medal in the men’s and the women’s 1,000-meter events.
Indonesia, not China, can call itself the most dominant dragon-boat rowing team in the continent, having won four of six gold medals available during the 2008 Asian Beach Games in Bali.
National rowing team manager Mardinal Jamaluddin said both the men’s and the women’s teams have already posted faster times since their victories in the Asian Beach Games.
The rowers have been training rigorously at Jatiluhur Dam in Purwakarta, West Java, since June.
“We’ve focused a lot on improving our rowers’ conditioning. That will be the key for them to win in Guangzhou,” he said.
The rowers competed at the Korea Open 1st International Dragon Boat Regatta in September, where they won all six events they were fielded in, although the field did not include China.
National rowing head coach Suryadi said he would’ve wanted to have faced China in Busan to see how the two teams, in their current form, stack up.
“We posted impressive times in Korea, and that was our goal there,” Suryadi said.
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