Spensstuber Mehue clocked a time of one minute and 59.256 seconds in the men’s 500m singles canoe race, followed by Myanmar’s Win Htike (1:59.676) and Rungsawan Suansan (2:01.886).
In the 500m doubles, Indonesian duo Anwar Tarra and Eka Octarorianus cruised past their opponents to take gold medal, leaving Myanmar with silver and Thailand with the bronze.
The team also notched up a surprise win in the women’s draw when Erni Sokoy won the 500m singles kayaking. Erni came in at 2:06.09, ahead of Singapore’s Geraldine Lee Wei Ling (2:07.734) and Thailand’s Kanokpan Suansan (2:08.894).
The women’s kayaking team also finished second to claim silver in the 500m four-rower event, while Myanmar took gold and Vietnam got bronze.
Indonesia’s fourth gold of the day came from the mountain bike competition. Women riders Kusmawati Yazid and Wilhelmina Tutuarima and their male counterparts, Chandra Rafsanzani and Bandi Sugito, clocked a time of 55:48.377 to win the mixed relay cross-country event. Thailand finished second and Vietnam third.
In badminton, meanwhile, the prospect of an all-Indonesian mixed doubles final was dashed when Riky Widianto and partner Richi Puspita Dili lost 21-19, 22-24, 17-21 to Thailand’s Maneepong Jongjit and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the quarterfinals.
Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto are the only other Indonesian team in the draw, and they went through to the semifinals with a 17-21, 21-10, 21-11 win over Malaysia’s Ong Jian Guo and Lim Yin Loo.
“We didn’t really enjoy the game today in the first game,” Rijal said as quoted by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) website.
“We were not relaxed. The defense was poor. But we tried to fix it in the next two games. It worked.”
“It is going to be tough but we are now trying our best to win the gold. Wish us luck,” Debby added.
Indonesia will continue its gold quest today in the men’s and women’s cross-country mountain bike event and in weight-lifting.
Jadi Setiadi is a strong favorite to win the men’s 56-kilogram event, while London Olympic Games bronze medalist Eko Yuli Irawan will compete in the 62-kilogram event.
Host Myanmar leads the medal count with 20 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze medals. Vietnam is second with 10 gold, six silver and nine bronze, followed by Thailand with nine gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze.
Indonesia is fourth with eight gold, 12 silver and nine bronze medals.
The Indonesian contingent at the opening ceremony of the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on Wednesday.
.
