SEA Games: One gold a major vindication for dragon boat team

Palembang, Indonesia —The national dragon boat team finally won gold on Sunday in the Southeast Asian Games, an accomplishment that brought redemption for the rowers. The gold came in the 500m 20-man crew where they clocked 1:53.95 on the heavy and shallow waters of the man-made Cipule Lake in West Java. They beat in the process a world-class Myanmar crew which settled for the silver with 1:54.12 and Thailand which bagged the bronze with 156.21. Surprisingly, Indonesia, a powerhouse in the sport, was fifth (1:57.64), behind Cambodia (1:57.27). The dragon boat gold medal complemented the same mints in cycling (Alfie Catalan, individual pursuit of track) and baseball, where the Philippines edged Indonesia, 2-0, also on Sunday. That gold in the sport called traditional boat race in the Games brought relief to a Canoe-Kayak Federation that had its back against the wall when a different team of Filipino rowers won multiple gold medals in the US earlier this year. Those golds sparked a controversy involving the Dragon Boat Federation of the Philippines, which refused to be a part of the Canoe-Kayak Federation as prescribed by the International Olympic Committee. “Salamat sa Diyos at sa prayers ng ating mga kababayan," said Canoe-Kayak Federation secretary general Jonne Go. Go said the gold was a vindication for the federation. “Maraming masasakit na salitang tinanggap ang mga atleta natin noon, sana naman tapos na ngayon," she said. - OMG/HS, GMA News