Indonesia Repeats Asian Games History With Silver in Men's 4x400 Relay
Jakarta. Indonesia won a silver medal in the men's 4x400-meter relay in athletics at the Asian Games in Jakarta on Thursday night (30/08), matching the country's achievement in the same event 52 years ago.
The Indonesian team, comprised of Fadlin, Lalu Muhammad Zohri, Eko Rimbawan and Bayu Kertanegara, finished the race in second place in a time of 38.77 seconds, or 0.61 seconds behind the Japanese team. China came third.
Eko, running in the third leg of the race, was in a tight competition against his Chinese opponent, Su Bingtian. In the final leg, China's Xu Zhouzheng overtook Bayu, but the Indonesian runner was able to edge past his opponent just 50 meters before the finish to secure silver.
"This is a proud achievement, because the 4x400-meter relay is one of the world's most prestigious athletics events. Our runners, Zohri and friends, are still young, on average 18 years old," said Syafrudddin, head of the Indonesian contingent.
"Their contenders are senior world-class athletes. So this is a huge achievement for our athletes," he added.
The team also broke the national record for the event. The previous record was 39.03 seconds.
The last time Indonesia won silver in the men's 4x100-meter relay was during the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok. The country has yet to secure gold in the event.
The host nation also won silver in the women's 100-meter hurdles at year's event.
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