Remembering the Srikandi Trio, First Olympic Medal Winners for Indonesia

 

The 1988 Seoul Olympics was a historic moment for Indonesia. On October 1, 1988, the Trio Srikandi archers, namely Nurfitiriyana Saiman Lantang, Lilies Handayani, and Kusuma Wardhani won the team silver medal at the Olympics. They presented Indonesia's first medal in the Olympics. 

The three Heroines of the nation succeeded in defeating the United States archery team and gave birth to the legend of nine arrows. With this success, Indonesia managed to come out as the 2nd winner. Immediately after the victory, the news of the success of the Trio Srikandi in Indonesian archery immediately generated immeasurable appreciation.

However, this historic moment was achieved by Nurfitriyana-Lilies-Kusuma through a process that was not easy. They achieved glory after being forged with hard training guided by coach Donald Pandiangan. At that time these three athletes were not famous at all before winning an Olympic silver medal. 

Their names are less famous than Mardi Lestari (athletics), Yayuk Basuki (tennis), Suharyadi (tennis), Donald Wailan Walalangi (tennis), and Adrianus Taroreh (boxing), who became famous athletes who took part in the 1988 Olympics. tennis, athletics, and boxing, are being favored by the people of Indonesia.

The new team archery competition category was contested for the first time in Seoul in the modern Olympics. Indonesian women's archery was not taken into account in competition at the 1988 Olympics. At that time there was a trio of arrows from South Korea (South Korea) who wiped out the individual number medals. 

Apart from that, there was the Chinese archery duo, Ma Xiangjung and Yao Yawen, the winner and 3rd place in the world archery championship in 1987. Also participating were Soviet archers who were the team winners of the 1987 World Archery Championship. There was also the United States (US) women's team who had often become world champion.

However, the Hwarang archery field which is located within the Seoul military complex, South Korea (South Korea), became a silent witness to the success of Donald Pandiangan's polished team when it gave birth to a silver medal for Indonesia. At that time, Indonesia's opponents, such as South Korea, the US, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, were world champions in women's team archery.

Unseeded, the Trio Srikandi Indonesia appeared carefree in the final. They steadily and confidently gain a lot of points. The three of them managed to gain a total of 952 points, equaling the United States archery points, beating points from the Soviet Union and also the United Kingdom.

Only a trio of South Korean female archers were able to surpass Indonesia's points. Great history was then created, the first Olympic medal for Indonesia. But because of the same points, the Indonesian and US archery trio again competed in the tri-breaker session. The last nine arrows released by the Indonesian trio of heroines gained 72 points.

This result was enough to beat the US which only won 67 points after one arrow deviated from the target board. Finally, Nurfitriyana-Lilies-Kusuma succeeded in becoming runners-up, presenting a silver medal for Indonesia. An unexpected success. 

This is because the achievements of the three were not optimal when fighting in the women's individual number. Kusuma and Lilies lost in the quarter-finals. While Nurfitriyana stopped in the semifinals. The silver medal was the first after 36 years for Indonesia to compete in the Olympics. It is also the motivation that Indonesian athletes can excel at the Olympics.

Forged with heavy training 

The success of the Srikandi Trio in winning a silver medal at the Seoul Olympics could not be separated from the cool hands of the coach, Donald Pandiangan. An Indonesian archery maestro who won the title of Indonesian Robin Hood at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada. He brought the three women together.

Initially, Nurfitriyana joined the Pelatnas team in 1980. He participated in various championships until he took part in the National Sports Week (PON) and the Southeast Asian Championships in 1983.

"I started my career from the bottom by joining Pelatnas in 1980. My career started to climb and was appointed to take part in several events in national matches, Southeast Asia," he said, quoting Merahputih.

Yana then became acquainted with Suma--Kusuma Wardhani's nickname--an archery athlete from Makassar, South Sulawesi. Yana and Suma met Lilies Handayani, an athlete from Surabaya two years later. They will be prepared to face the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

"We were selected as archery athletes to represent Indonesia at the prestigious 1988 Seoul Olympics. At that time, there was a feeling of pride to be able to participate there," said Yana.

They were galvanized hard. Must undergo training in Sukabumi. No luxury amenities, just an old house with breast-deep grass in the yard. Under coach coaching, they are forged with a hard menu of physical and mental training.

"At that time we were taken to a practice location that was completely remote away from the crowds. We were trained physically, technically, and mentally. We were told to fill water into barrels with buckets, run around the tea garden, and practice archery while standing on drums. ," explained Lilies, who admitted that her hands had gone numb.

Meanwhile Kusuma admitted that training with Donald was an invaluable experience and an extraordinary opportunity. He and his friends also made many sacrifices to win a silver medal at the Olympics.

To form a professional archer, Kusuma still remembers the time when the coach required his men to practice rock climbing, climbing mountains and running into the rice fields which were quite dangerous. He also had to shoot until late at night because his shots always missed.

"I practiced until evening because my shots always missed. The coach said that if a shot misses it is considered debt and must be paid for with continuous practice until it hits the target," said Suma.

"That's all the training we did for seven months in Sukabumi until in the end all preparations, both physically and mentally, were trained in great detail by Pak Donald," he added.

Tough training, coupled with boredom, made one of the Heroines mentally fall. At that time Yana had to keep the spirit of her younger siblings. He is the oldest and is considered a role model.

"One of us feels bored and wants to go home. However, I continue to support him so that he can survive in any difficult conditions," said Yana.

Exceeded targets 

While in Seoul, the pressure was increasingly felt by athletes, including archery athletes. They carry the burden of representing Indonesia in the Olympics. Since taking part in the Olympics for the first time in Helsinki, Finland (1952), Indonesia has never made any achievements.

"In my mind, I only want to give the best for Indonesia. We are able to present medals at the prestigious Seoul Olympics," explained Yana.

Indeed, at that time no one thought that archery could win a medal. According to journalist and film director 3 Srikandi, Iman Brotoseno, even during the meeting of Olympic athletes, it seemed that the head of state was only busy and talking with athletes from popular branches.

"There is a feeling of annoyance and anxiety from the archery athletes. Why doesn't the president acknowledge their presence?" wrote Faith in his personal blog.

Even though at that time, Donald Pandiangan had been the Asian champion back and forth in the 70s. In fact, he once broke the world record at the 1977 PON Jakarta. His dream of winning a medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics was shattered after the Indonesian government decided to boycott because of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.

Actually, the Indonesian women's archery branch was only targeted to contribute a bronze medal. Surprisingly, the Srikandi Trio managed to exceed their target by winning a silver medal. Thanks to this contribution, Indonesia is ranked 36th over the two neighboring Southeast Asian countries, Thailand and the Philippines.

The news spread quickly in the country. The return of the Srikandi Trio was greeted enthusiastically by the Indonesian people at Soekarno-Hatta airport, Cengkareng. President Soeharto invited the three archery athletes and their coaching team to the State Palace as a form of appreciation.

Link: https://www.goodnewsfromindonesia.id/2021/07/21/mengenang-trio-srikandi-peraih-medali-olimpiade-pertama-untuk-indonesia