Christopher Benjamin Rungkat and Aldila Sutjiadi (L) of Indonesia celebrate after Tennis Mixed Doubles Gold Medal match at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia on Aug. 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)
PALEMBANG, Indonesia, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's mixed doubles tennis pair of Christopher Rungkat and Aldilla Sutjiadi secured gold here on Saturday at Jakabaring Sports City.
The young Indonesian pairing emerged victorious after a gruelling final against Luksika Kumkhum and Sonchat Ratiwatana of Thailand that finished 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 and lasted more than two hours.
The Thai pairing had to be content with silver, while bronze medals went to the beaten semifinalists from Kazakstan and Japan.
Speaking after the final, Christopher Rungkat spoke of his pre-tournament hopes of winning a home gold medal. "We had targeted the gold medal at the Asian Games. Before the match I was optimistic of winning as I had taken gold at the 2011 Southeast Asia Games held at this same venue."
Indonesia had previously taken the mixed doubles tennis gold at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, where Hary Suharyadi and Yayuk Basuki were the victorious duo.
The host nation currently sits fifth in the overall medal table with 10 gold, 12 silver and 16 bronze medals. China remain in first place with 71 golds, a long way ahead of Japan in second with 34.
