Young Indonesian athletes who are prepared well for competitions abroad shine brightly at the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam. They are the result of structured and continuous coaching.
By
Kelvin Hianusa and I Gusti AB Angga Putra from Hanoi, Vietnam
·5 minutes read
HANOI, KOMPAS — The 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam feels increasingly like the stage for Indonesia's debut athletes. A number of athletes who are not burdened with specific targets, such as basketball player Derrick Michael Xzavierro (19) and swimmer Masniari Wolf (16), have actually become the "backbone" of the team. Behind this phenomenon, there is a message that Indonesia has abundant talent, but it needs proper coaching to polish it.
Derrick ordained himself as a future star in the debut performance of the SEA Games at the Tanh Tri Indoor Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday (16/5/2022). With 24 points and 18 rebounds in 37 minutes in that match, he became the hero of the Indonesian basketball team's dramatic victory over Malaysia, 95-92.
In extra time, Derrick became a player that head coach Milos Pejic continued to trust. That trust was paid for by an explosive dunk at the end of the game. The dunk by the 2.06-meter tall athlete made Indonesia take the lead and broke the mentality of the opponent who had risen from a situation when it was 18 points behind.
"He [Derrick] has only been training with us for the last two weeks. We trained him for position 4 [power forward], but he had to play for position 5 [center] because Marques Bolden [a naturalized player] got injured yesterday. It’s crazy, he [Derrick] played really well," said Pejic.
Derrick filled the void in Bolden's absence. The Indonesian-Cameroon descent athlete appeared like a naturalized player. His height is the most towering among other senior players. With a physical advantage, Derrick is like a giant in the inner area which is reflected in the number of re-bounds and blocks (5 times).
Derrick is no longer a thin and tall teenager who was at the bench for the Indonesian national team in the Asian Cup qualifiers, in early 2020. Derrick has "evolved" after entering the NBA Global Academy program, last year. He won a scholarship to the program that gave birth to the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA player, Josh Giddey.
“I'm more confident now, more courageous. I also know better how to play. Out there, I appear with very tall people. That's why I wanted to show you what I've been training all this time,” said Derrick, who wore dreadlocks.
Derrick was once coached in Australia, one of the headquarters of the NBA Global Academy. He has also toured the United States playing against school teams in recent months. This experience made him the first Indonesian basketball player to appear in the NCAA, a university basketball competition in the US.
From the swimming pool, another Indonesia's debut athlete, Masniari, also shone in Vietnam. She grabbed gold medal in the 50 meters backstroke on Sunday. The athlete of Indonesian-German descent ended an 11-year drought of gold medals in the Indonesian women's swimming.
Masniari, who started the final from track 3 or was unseeded, finished fastest with a time of 29.21 seconds. Her record time also became a new national record previously set by Sofie Kemala (29.47 seconds) in Bandung in 2016.
Interestingly, Masniari did not train at the swimming team's national training center, like the other 16 colleagues. The athlete who attended school in Germany trained separately at the SG Frankfurt club. The swimmer who was born in 2005 even went straight to Vietnam from Germany, not with the swimming team in Jakarta.
“There, I trained six times a week with the club. Before swimming, I also do athletic training. My activities cannot be separated from sports because I attend a sports school. It all helped my development,” said Masniari, who almost cancelled her trip to Vietnam because she was still a reserve swimmer in April.
To hone her talent, Masniari regularly participates in championships in Germany. This year, she has participated in four championships. Last year, she participated in nine championships. Several of the championships were held outside Germany.
Masniari and Derrick's achievements show that Indonesia has many potential athletes. They can shine more quickly, one of which is thanks to a coaching program abroad.
However, a number of young athletes who are coached domestically are also no less promising. This was shown by shooter Dewi Laila Mubarokah (23) who also made her SEA Games debut in Vietnam.
Dewi’s redemption
Dewi won Indonesia's first gold in Vietnam. For Dewi, the SEA Games this time is her passion that has been hidden for more than three years. Dewi cancelled playing for Indonesia at the 2019 Philippines SEA Games due to the limited quota of athletes sent. In fact, at that time, she had already been declared ready and worthy to represent Indonesia.
This is what I have been waiting for three years. It's exploding now.
Not surprisingly, she looked emotional, her eyes filled with tears, when she was declared the winner of the women's individual 10-meter air rifle yesterday. She beat the host athlete, Phi Tanh Thao, in the final. "This is what I have been waiting for three years. It's exploding now," she said.
Until last night, Indonesia was ranked fifth in the medal tally. A total of 23 gold, 36 silver, and 27 bronze were won by the “Red and White” contingent in Vietnam.