REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- China will certainly become the overall champion in the 2018 Asian Games sports event in Jakarta and Palembang, but the competition of athletes from countries in Asia to fight for the gold medals has yet to come to an end.
A total of 30 gold medals are still there to be contested in the final numbers in 11 sports on Friday. The gold medal that will still be contested on this Friday is on the sports of sail with 10 gold, judo with 5 gold, track racing bikes 4 gold, sambo 2 gold, scuba diving two gold, roller skates (two gold, then hockey, women's soccer, modern pentathlon, triathlon, and handball respectively 1 gold each.
The Indonesian contingent is still struggling to add a medal, although to gain gold is getting heavier. As proven on Thursday was that the host country Indonesia was only able to add one silver from the athletics number 4x100 meter men's relay and one bronze from the women's double canoe 500 meters.
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The lack of medals is predictable, considering that the sports that are still competing in the last days ahead of the closing of the Asian Games are not Indonesia's mainstay. In sail sport that provided 10 gold medals, Indonesian athletes competing in the qualifying round until the end of the last round were thrown from the medal zone.
Likewise in judo, they were unable to do much. This sport became the mainstay of the Japanese contingent which in the previous day's match wiped out four gold medals.
A similar situation is almost certain to occur in other sports, such as track racing, diving, sambo, modern pentathlon, triathlon, and roller skates. Indonesia may need "miracle" and more power to compete with athletes from powerful countries in the hunt for medals on Friday.
"Our athletes are fifty-fifty, hopefully they can contribute medals," said Indonesian skate team coach Yudhi Heryadi when met at the Jakabaring Sport skating arena in Palembang on Thursday.
The roller skate branch held two final numbers of 20 kilometers of men and women. The Indonesian team deployed four athletes, respectively M Oky Ardianto and Tias Andira (male), as well as Salma Falya Niluh Heryadie and Alifia Meidia Namasta (female).
Meanwhile, three game sports namely handball, hockey and women's soccer will hold a gold medal fight.
For handball, Qatar's men's team faces Bahrain. Then the women's hockey final brought Japan to India, and the Japanese team will be challenged by China in the women's soccer final at the Jakabaring Stadium in Palembang.
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