Indonesia managed to add three medals on the last day of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The most special was the mixed doubles badminton pair in the SL3-SU5 class, Leani Ratri Oktila and Hary Susanto, who won gold.

Oktila and Susanto won against mixed doubles from France, Lucaz Mazur and Faustine Noel, through a long struggle. In the first set, the Indonesian pair tried to escape the pressure of the French couple in a fast-paced game until they finally won with a score of 23-21.

In the second set, the French pair appeared more pressing. The match was tight, with both parties exchanging attacks until finally, the Indonesian couple managed to bring gold with a final score of 21-17.

This is the second gold medal for Indonesia and Oktila. Previously, the gold medal was awarded to the women's doubles pair, namely Oktila and Khalismatus Sadiyah.

 

 

 

 

 

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Harry Susanto's Struggle

After Oktila's profile was discussed in the previous article, it is now Hary Susanto's turn to get the spot. Susanto is a 46-year-old para-badminton athlete who represented Indonesia at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Although considered a senior, Susanto did not hesitate to go down in two numbers: men's singles SL4 and mixed doubles SL3-SU5 with Oktila.

Susanto's journey in this year's paralympic men's singles class was not easy. He had to admit defeat and was eliminated in the group stage. This made Susanto shift his focus to the men's doubles class to get a gold medal.

Susanto's story begins with an accident while riding a motorcycle in 1997. The accident made Susanto unable to walk normally and had made him despair.

But he then got up and thoughtfully chose badminton from before; it was just an ordinary hobby. Susanto practiced and then ventured to take part in regional and national competitions.

As a result, various championships made him take home a gold medal—Asian and Asean level competitions as well as international competitions.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Joko Widodo (@jokowi)

Indonesian Paralympics Results

The results obtained by the Indonesian team at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics were very satisfying. President Joko Widodo directly congratulated the athletes who had succeeded in bringing home medals.

"On behalf of all Indonesian people, I would like to congratulate you on the gold medals in the women's doubles and mixed doubles badminton events. This is very encouraging news, proud for all of us. After 41 years we can win gold in the Paralympics and immediately 2 gold medals," Widodo said.

Paralympic athletes will also be given bonuses like Olympic athletes. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has confirmed that paralympic athletes will receive Rp5.5 billion for gold medals, Rp2.5 billion for silver, and Rp1.5 billion for bronze.

On the last day of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Indonesia won three medals. In addition to gold from Oktila and Susanto, medals were also presented from the women's singles, which were awarded by Oktila and Fredy Setiawan, who successfully won bronze in the men's singles event SL4.

This result made Indonesia's position in the medal standings rise to 43rd position. Indonesia ended the Tokyo Paralympics with nine medals, including two gold medals, three silver medals, and four bronze medals.

The position of the first medal standings was obtained by China with 96 gold medals, Great Britain with 41 gold medals, and the United States with 37 gold medals.