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Indonesia has won Olympic gold in only one sport: badminton.
On Monday, the world’s fourth most populous country took another notch badminton victory When Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu claim gold in women’s doubles. It was the first gold for Indonesia at the Tokyo Games and the eighth gold in the country’s Olympic history.
Polii and Apriyani took down former world champions Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China, 21-19, 21-15 in straight sets, delivering precision hits and choppy hits with the racket that caused their opponents to fling for nothing. Near the end of the match, Polii had to race in the middle of the court to replace his racket as the rope broke, but he came back to win.
Badminton is a national sport in Indonesia, where shuttles find wherever they can find a place to play: a clearing in a palm oil plantation, a pier on a remote island, or a sliver of cement between tall buildings. Asian countries such as China, Indonesia and South Korea dominate the medal count of the Olympic sport.
Polii, 33, is a badminton veteran who first competed at the 2012 London Games. But his debut was unlucky. The Olympic organizers tried to make it a better draw that he and his partner tried to lose an early game. The Indonesians, along with several other couples, were disqualified.
Unsportsmanlike behavior has plagued badminton in recent months. The sport’s governing body has banned three Indonesian players for life this year for match-fixing and betting. Five more were fined and suspended for up to 12 years.
Polii was preparing to retire after the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he and his former partner reached the quarterfinals. But Apriyani, who was ten years younger, convinced him to hold another Olympics. They entered the competition in Tokyo unseeded.
Indonesia consumed by coronavirusThis has made the country one of the most dangerous places in the world. The delta variant traverses the sprawling archipelago as vaccination rates remain low.
Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting will play in the men’s singles bronze medal match on Monday night, but Apriyani and Polii remain the only hope for gold badminton. (Indonesia also won bronze in women’s weightlifting, and there are medal hopes in another women’s weightlifting class.)
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in a statement on his social media account, “The wait for gold ended this afternoon. “This win is Indonesia’s gift of independence two weeks early.”
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, although it has a significant Christian minority and adheres to other faiths. While sectarian tensions have boiled over the years, sometimes with fatal consequences, badminton doubles players have often been from mixed backgrounds, such as Apriyani, a Muslim, and Polii, a Christian.
After the couple’s victory on Monday, a politician from an Islamist party praised them on Twitter.
“This gold medal is a sweet gift for Indonesia, which is still fighting against the pandemic,” said Mardani Ali Sera, MP for the Prosperous Justice Party. “Thank you to all the Indonesian athletes who have struggled and are still fighting. Indonesians support you and pray for you.”
Muktita Suhartono contributing reporting.
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