| Fadhil Yunus |
HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to present the championship trophy to Pasukan Olahraga Dayung Seluruh Indonesia Kalimantan Barat, the winner of the 30-Rower Traditional Boat Race Marathon of the Brunei Darussalam Regatta 2018 in conjunction with the 72nd birthday celebration of His Majesty.
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, presented trophies to the winning teams in the morning session of the regatta which was held along the Brunei River.
Pasukan Olahraga Dayung Seluruh Indonesia Kalimantan Barat (PODSI Kalbar), captured the prestigious title in a time of 19:33:79 with MS ABDB finishing in second place with a time of 20:31:41 and Leila Ceteria settling for third place in a time of 22:16:05.
The marathon, which covered a distance of 5,000 metres, was the grand finale of the day-long event which began from Pulau Sibungur and ended in front of Dermaga Diraja.
The Indonesian team won the marathon in style despite limited preparation and also made their debut in the competition after being invited as one of the international teams which also included teams from Malaysia and China.
“We didn’t have a target because of the limited time since the invitation. Honestly, we only had three days of training so we had no targets of winning the marathon,” said the head of the team Abdi Nurkamil in an interview with the media.
Abdi indicated that the sport which is steeped in tradition and heritage is held with great interest in Brunei Darussalam.
“This is a traditional sport and it is clear that it is still preserved in Brunei Darussalam. We also have this in our country (Indonesia) but not like this. We only have eight rowers while in Brunei it is up to 30 rowers,” he said.
“We would like to convey our thanks for the invitation and Insya Allah we will come back next year.”
The head of the team added that they were using the boats in Brunei for the first time but as they are already familiar with this kind of traditional boats, elements of patience and calm proved to be significant tools for them.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Dr Sujatmiko reaffirmed that it is the first time that PODSI Kalbar joined the marathon category of the competition.
“For the first time, we have a team competing in the marathon category. We also won an event in the 2,000-metre,” said Dr Sujatmiko in an interview.
“This shows evidence that relations between both Brunei Darussalam and Indonesia is close especially with Kalimantan Barat,” he said.
He said that the team comprised 53 people from Pontianak and expressed his hopes that the team will return to further enliven the event.
“We are very delighted but what is important is not the victory but the spirit and togetherness to enliven His Majesty’s birthday celebration. Through increased participation, we can help foster the ties between Brunei Darussalam and Indonesia,” he added.
Asked about his expectations for the young rowers, he said, “The rowers did not have any training and they arrived in Brunei on Friday. My hope is that they should have train one month before the competition,” he said.
Pasukan Olahraga Dayung Seluruh Indonesia Kalimantan Barat also emerged victorious in the 20-Rower Under 30 Youth Fibreglass Boat Race category after they finished with a time of 6:37:39 ahead of Nanjing, China with a time of 6:41:14 and Pasukan Tamoi Bersatu with a time of 7:14:56.
“I am very proud of winning the competition and it is also the first time that we won the event,” said Andi Yuyus Adianto, team manager of PODSI Kalbar.
Prior to their historic win in the marathon event, Andi expressed his hopes of gaining success in the grand finale to emulate the feat achieved in the 20-Rower event.
He added that their training was very minimal having only prepared for 10 days in Pontianak.
Andi said that the team have actively featured in Malaysian regatta as well as domestically to represent provinces.
Setia Protective Security Services (SPSS) further built their reputation as the top team in the division after replicating their success from another national-level competition last November by winning the 20-Rower Inter-Private Company Fibreglass Boat Race category.
Other winners included Pasukan Tamoi Bersatu in the 20-Rower Youth Open Fibreglass category, Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien College in the 15-Rower among Colleges and Secondary Schools Fibreglass Boat Race category and Universiti Teknologi Brunei in the 15-Rower Fibreglass Boat Race Among Higher Learning Institutions category.
The biggest winner in the morning session was Laksamana Seri Sinampuan Lawas after capturing the 30-Rower Traditional Open Boat Race and the 25-Rower Traditional Open Boat Race categories.
The Temburong District reigned supreme in the districts category while the Ministry of Defence took top honours in the inter-ministry category.
Tamoi Bersatu shrugged off the likes of local powerhouses Saba and Leila Ceteria as well as a pair of international teams to win the 15-Rower Under 30 Youth Fibreglass Boat Race category.