Triady Fauzi steered Indonesia's 4x100-meter individual relay team to gold, but the win failed to inspire other members of the contingent to victory, with the reigning champion still struggling in fourth place in the provisional standings.
Thailand's medal charge seemed unstoppable, with the country ending Monday's program with a total of 59 golds to stay on top.
Indonesia could only add six golds for a total of 38, behind second-placed Vietnam with 43 and host Myanmar with 39 golds.
Chef de mission of the Indonesian contingent Asrizal Tanjung said he was still optimistic about Indonesia's chances of retaining the championship title, with several other sports still to be contested.
"I believe all athletes will give their best in the remaining days," he said.
The Indonesian contingent added golds in rowing (three), chess (one), billiards and snooker (one) and swimming.
At the Wunna Theikdi Aquatic Stadium, Fauzi and teammates pulled ahead to beat Singapore and Thailand in second and third place, producing the best time of 3:41.65, with Singapore on 03:43:62 and Thailand on 03:47.94.
According to coach Albert C. Sutanto, the target of six gold medals was difficult considering three of Indonesia's swimming specialty events — the 50-meter backstroke, 50-meter breaststroke and 50-meter butterfly — were eliminated from the 27th edition of the regional multi-sporting event.
"It was a challenge for us and we almost met the target, but this is the best we could do," he said.
"This team is really solid. We will prepare it for the Asian Games next year," said Albert.
He added that on the current results, he gave special attention to the women's swimming team, which was only able to secure a silver and some bronze medals.
"We know what we need to improve, but it will take time," he said.
Susanto Megaranto won a second gold medal in chess after he was also victorious in the random chess event on Monday. The team's first gold was won by Irene Kharisma in the women's chess blitz
The team missed out on a third gold after Mohamad Ervan, Dede Lioe and Taufik Halay finished second behind Thailand in the men's traditional team blitz.
At Ngalike reservoir, the rowing team scooped three golds courtesy of Wahyuni/Maryam Makdalena Daimoi in the lightweight women's doubles sculls; Jamaludin/Alidarta Lakiki/Arief/Thomas Hallatu in the men's lightweight quadruple sculls and Ihram/Muhad Yakin in the men's lightweight double sculls.
The team expects more results when the competition resumes on Tuesday with four gold medals on offer.
Indonesia's soccer fans had reason to cheer when the team qualified for the semifinals after beating Myanmar 1-0.
Indonesia's goal was scored by Alfin Ismail Tuasalamony from close range.
The win gave Indonesia seven points, equal to Myanmar, but Indonesia qualified along with Thailand from Group B thanks to the former's better head-to-head record with Myanmar.
Elsewhere, Indonesia's athletes ended up playing second fiddle to their opponents.
In the archery field, two Indonesians reached the finals but both were beaten.
Titik Kusumawardani admitted to misreading the wind direction, which cost her dearly in the women's 70-meter recurve final against Chan Jing Ru of Singapore.
In the compound event, Dellie Threesyadinda lost to Aung Ngeain of Myanmar 138-130.
Track and field events brought more misery to Indonesia's athletes.
The Indonesian team consisted of several defending champions at the start of the day, but they ended proceedings in defeat.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/struggling-champ-still-upbeat-about-title-bid/
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