The Indonesian national rowing team is targeting four gold medals at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, according to the results of a joint evaluation by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora).
Indonesian national rowing team coach Muhammad Hadris emphasized that the target is realistic after reviewing the performance of the male athletes, who remain the mainstay of the Indonesian team, and evaluating the results of the Asian Championships in Vietnam on October 16-19.
"Our target is four gold medals, according to the Ministry of Youth and Sports' review. In the men's event, all the gold medals we're aiming for are still on track," Hadris told ANTARA by phone on Monday.
Hadris said the results of the 2025 Asian Rowing Championships would be the primary evaluation material ahead of the SEA Games. In the men's event, Indonesia still holds a significant lead over other Southeast Asian countries.
"For the men, the gap is huge. We've seen other countries, especially Thailand, seem to have their own strategies in Vietnam, fielding different lineups. But so far, it's been the same athletes, so we know their level," he said.
The situation was different in the women's events. Indonesia only narrowly lost to Vietnam in some events, but the time difference was still quite large in others.
"In the women's championship, some are one second behind, some are three seconds behind. That's realistic to catch up with. But there are also those who are 10 to 15 seconds behind, which is definitely a challenge over two months," Hadris explained.
