Nanda Ragillia-Riski Dwi Andriani of Indonesia defeated Kuck Sea Theng-Luck Teck Hua of Malaysia 21-14, 21-18 in a women’s beach volleyball exhibition match on Wednesday at the Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG), in which the players wore a bit more than the customary bikini. The games’ organizing committee decided there would be no medals awarded in women’s beach volleyball because only two countries — Indonesia with two teams and Malaysia with one team — were taking part.
The committee also said that the players would not wear bikinis, which the participants agreed to.
“During the technical meeting, the committee decided that the dress needed to be appropriate for the ISG,” competition head Djoko Pramono said.
Nanda said she felt more confident in the fuller jersey she usually wore during training.
“I feel more comfortable without bikinis. When playing overseas I wear shorts that go down to the thigh,” she said.
Lack of competitors has also prompted women’s basketball to be played as an exhibition, with the three participants — Egypt, Qatar and Indonesia — facing each other in a round robin format.
Given the cooperative nature of the ISG, Djoko said matches would still be played in all events, despite few participants and no medals being awarded.
“If we strictly followed international rules, many matches would be cancelled,” he said.
Nanda said she enjoyed the game, even without medals at stake.
“We regarded it as a good practice match against the Malaysian team,” she said.
The men’s beach volleyball teams are divided into two groups with Indonesia 1, Oman 1, Qatar 1 and Palestine in Group A and Indonesia 2, Malaysia, Qatar 2, Oman 2 and Uganda in Group B.
Elsewhere, lifter Sinta Darmariana added to the host country’s gold medal collection after she won the 63-kg division at the Jakabaring Graha Serbaguna Hall.
Sinta managed a lift of 90 kg in the snatch and 112 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 202 kg.
Samar Said Habashy Ahmed Hussein won silver for Egypt with an equal total lift but Sinta was awarded the gold because the Indonesian weighed less than her rival — 62.09 kg compared to 62.83 kg.
Fellow Indonesian Dwi Atika Sari lifted a total of 183 kg (78-kg snatch, 105-kg clean and jerk).
In the 69-kg division, Ghada Hssine of Tunisia emerged as the winner, followed by Siti Sarah of Indonesia and Boshra Mohammad of Syria.
In the men’s competition, Eko Yuli Irawan was unchallenged, winning the 62-kg gold with a total lift of 299 kg (140-kg snatch, 165-kg clean and jerk).
