A ceremony for the athletes prior to their departure. Photo: bola.com
Brilio.net/en - The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro open this weekend. Athletes who have shined in their home countries will now compete against each other on the biggest stage of all.
There are 28 Indonesians in Brazil. Of those, 10 will compete in badminton (an Indonesian medal mainstay), seven in weightlifting, four in archery, two in athletics, two in swimming, two in rowing and one in cycling. In this article, we take a sneak peek at some of the athletes who might just bring home the goods.
Weightlifting
One sport Indonesians should keep an eye on is weightlifting. Out of the seven athletes who will be competing, Eko Yuli Irawan and Triyatno are favored to win medals after podium finishes at the last two Olympic Games.
Eko Yuli Irawan, 27, won bronze in each of the last two Games for different weight categories. He has also bagged four gold medals in four consecutive Southeast Asian games between 2007 and 2013, making him a hot candidate to claim yet another medal at the Rio Olympics. Meanwhile, 28-year old Triyatno claimed silver and bronze medals at the 2012 and 2008 Olympic Games, respectively.
Badminton
Badminton is the safest bet to add to Indonesias medal tally. The country consistently churns out world-class talent and it has become the norm for the country to claim multiple titles at every major event.
The 10 shuttlers will try to revive a run of gold medals stretching back to 1992 that ended in a disappointing London 2012.
Go team!
(brl/red)
