Satwik-Chirag in quarters; Prannoy, Sindhu bow out in Singapore Open
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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
How an 11-Year-Old Boy on a Boat Became a Source of National Pride—and Envy
At 11, he went viral for dancing in futuristic sunglasses while balancing on a skinny boat going 20 miles an hour during a race. His job was to hype up his rowers, and he did it so suavely that Travis Kelce and other celebrities around the world paid tribute. As the annual boat competition returns this week, villagers in this rural Indonesian region are celebrating his fame and the financial windfall that followed. They're also asking: Why him? Dikha's team is no title contender. It didn't even win that viral race. And many of the 200 other boys who dance on racing boats have more talent. 'Dikha got lucky,' said Aprilastuti, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name. She points instead to the highly regarded dancer for the reigning champs: Arkha, her 10-year-old son. 'Arkha's dancing has more variety,' she said. 'Dikha has only a few moves.' Said Arkha: 'I am better than Dikha.' This remote corner of the world is trying to grasp the fleeting randomness of internet fame. Government officials are touting the region as a tourist destination, with Indonesia's vice president attending this week's races. Dikha does his part, gamely repeating his 20-second dance for promotional videos as the province's new tourism ambassador. At the heart of this moment is a competition. For three months, some 200 boats compete in a series of races culminating in the main event. This time, the boys shimmying on their narrow bows have extra drive. 'The other dancers are motivated to be like Dikha,' Aprilastuti said. Villagers pull the racing boat inland in Kuantan Singingi earlier this hull of the boat is made from a single tree and is typically 100 feet long, and teams range from 40 to 75 male rowers. The boat races are unique to Kuantan Singingi, a region of 370,000 largely Muslim people with Malay roots. Getting here involves flying to the city of Pekanbaru and driving four bumpy hours south, across the equator. The route, lined with palm trees and mosques, features hazards including chickens, goats and the occasional monkey. Called Pacu Jalur, the competition dates to the 17th century. It was held in August to commemorate Queen Wilhelmina's birthday during Dutch colonial rule, and now coincides with Indonesia's Independence Day. The two-minute race covers a kilometer, or six-tenths of a mile. The hull of the jalur, or boat, is made from a single tree and is typically 100 feet long. Teams range from 40 to 75 male rowers. Each has one anak joki, or dancer. Beyond cheerleading, the dancer traditionally performs only when his team is ahead, signaling to faraway spectators which team is leading. He is always a boy, since a child weighs less and can more easily balance on a bow less than a foot wide. They wear traditional Malay outfits; Dikha personalizes his with oversize shades. The original video of Dikha dancing last year, uploaded by a local, went little noticed for months. Then this summer came edited versions set to the American rap song 'Young Black & Rich.' Dikha became an international sensation. He looked so effortlessly cool. Internet users dubbed his dancing 'aura farming.' The football star Kelce posted a video comparing his touchdown dances to aura farming. U.S. soccer player Diego Luna copied Dikha to celebrate a goal. Golfer Bryson DeChambeau, F1 driver Alex Albon and DJ Steve Aoki did their versions. Others spoofed it at the office, on their cars and inside Costco. Locals don't know who posted the viral videos, said Dzikri Maulana Muhammad, a Pacu Jalur uniform designer. The other mystery: Why him? 'There are many children better than Dikha,' Dzikri said. Arkha says he's a better dancer than his more famous rival. Asked about this assessment, Dikha nodded. 'Yes, there are,' he said. His mother, 36-year-old Rani Ridawati, had one explanation for his stardom: 'It was Allah's gift.' She did suggest a reason why his moves resonated: They are smooth and easy to copy. He mimics fanning air, shooting guns and flying. 'It's unique, the simplicity,' she said. Fame brought Dikha his first plane trip, to Jakarta to dance on national TV, and a small fortune. For highlighting Pacu Jalur, government agencies gave him about $3,700—more than the combined annual income of his mother, a nonpermanent office worker at a disaster agency, and his construction-worker father. They are saving the money for his education. On a recent morning in Pintu Gobang, a village of 1,500 people and three Pacu Jalur teams, Dikha woke up in the bed he shares with his two brothers. The middle child, he rode with dad on a moped to school. Classes were canceled. All 159 students were cleaning ahead of a visit by Indonesia's tourism ministry, prompted by his video. Dikha grabbed a broom. Dikha, shown departing for school, launched to fame after the release of an edited version of his dance set to the American rap song 'Young Black & Rich.'The competition, which dates to the 17th century, features about 200 boats facing off in a series of races culminating in this week's main event. After school, Dikha returned home, sat on the living-room rug and opened a package: sunglasses from a European company. He chatted with his family about filming a police promotional video the next day. His dream is to become a policeman. Then came practice, but not with his team. A smaller village with inexperienced rowers asked Dikha's squad for manpower and know-how. They wanted ringers. After a half-hour trip, Dikha and dozens of teammates boarded a longboat in the brown Indragiri River, where rival teams were also practicing. As his teammates paddled, the boy broke into his trademark dance, prompting cheers from the roughly 100 villagers onshore. One spectator was 12-year-old Muhammad Afif. He had been training to debut as the boat's dancer in a race four days away. Now he was watching Dikha audition for his role. 'I want to be famous like Dikha,' he said. He might have to wait another year. The team chose Dikha. Dikha, shown training this month, mimics fanning air, shooting guns and flying. Write to Stu Woo at How an 11-Year-Old Boy on a Boat Became a Source of National Pride—and Envy How an 11-Year-Old Boy on a Boat Became a Source of National Pride—and Envy How an 11-Year-Old Boy on a Boat Became a Source of National Pride—and Envy How an 11-Year-Old Boy on a Boat Became a Source of National Pride—and Envy How an 11-Year-Old Boy on a Boat Became a Source of National Pride—and Envy How an 11-Year-Old Boy on a Boat Became a Source of National Pride—and Envy
NDTV
3 days ago
- NDTV
Indonesian Footballer Falls Into Deep Ditch Celebrating Goal, Video Viral
Football is incomplete without the players performing celebrations after scoring a goal. From Cristiano Ronaldo's 'Siuuu' to Mo Salah's 'bow and arrow' celebration, football is filled with such gestures. While most of them are innocent and cause no harm, an Indonesian footballer took his celebration a touch too far, which could have resulted in serious injuries. In a now-viral video from a match in the Independence Cup 2025, Indonesia U-17 striker Mierza Firjatullah fell into a pit whilst celebrating his goal against Tajikistan U-17 at the North Sumatra Stadium in Deliserdang. The incident transpired in the 34th minute of the match when the 16-year-old scored with a brilliant header. Ecstatic by his strike, Firjatullah ran straight towards the crowd to celebrate and jumped over the advertising hoardings and sprinted beyond the fencing, landing straight into a 10-foot deep pit, next to the fans' enclosure. The players, coaches and stewards immediately ran towards the pit to check if the player was safe or hurt. Fortunately, Firjatullah managed to stick the landing and did not fall awkwardly on his joints or any other delicate body part. After being startled, he could be seen celebrating with the fans. Firjatullah was helped out of the ditch by staff and continued playing briefly before being substituted in the 59th minute. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. See the viral video here: 🚨 Indonesia U-17 player Mierza fell into a 10-foot ditch while celebrating a goal against Tajikistan. The 16-year-old is fine and injury-free 🙏 #soccer #viral #football — MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) August 14, 2025 'If it was offside...' As the video went viral, garnering thousands of views and hundreds of comments, a section of users joked about what would have happened if the referee ruled the goal offside, while others blamed the stadium administration for not putting up taller fencing. "Imagine if the goal was considered offside," said one user, while another added: "This is how I jump to conclusions." A third commented: "He must be an away player. A home player would know their home ground and not jump." A fourth said: "Oh my god! He almost ended his own career. But that fence needs to be build a little higher." The Independence Cup is a four-team tournament held from August 12 to 18, 2025. The four-nation tournament also includes Mali and Uzbekistan.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
Why playing World No 1 Shi Yuqi earlier in Round 1 rather than later, is better for Lakshya Sen
It's not unprecedented. Lee Chong Wei and even Viktor Axelsen have exited World Championships early as top seeds in last decade. But Shi Yuqi is on a hot streak of 3/3 Super 1000 titles this year, and 9/9 tournament finals since start of 2024. So, Indian badminton fans can be excused their morose mugs at the sight of the World No 1 drawn against Lakshya Sen in the Badminton World Championship draw. It's a depressed fan base, long-suffering since Paris Olympics, and prone to dunking own players at slightest hints of Top 10 opponents lining up early. Sen, however, has no such luxuries to sit and mope. And all things considered Round 1 might be the best time to go up against the toughest opponent in the draw. Shi Yuqi is not ideal to face in the first round, but when dreaming of a World Championship medal, isn't having to beat big names inevitable? It's how India won its last medal – Prannoy playing a masterfully strategic game, plotted by Pullela Gopichand and Gurusaidutt, to down Viktor 'The Axelsen' at home in Copenhagen in 2023. Ask Sindhu, Saina, Sai Praneeth, Srikanth or Satwik-Chirag, and they will reel off all the 'big names' they roiled against, ro earn their medals. For Sen – there's Shi Yuqi, and hopefully Christo Popov, Alex Lanier and Li Shifeng, though plenty hinges on how his back, shoulder hold up and what Sen's stamina reserves, are at. Go back a year, and there was similar mourning and muttering over Lakshya Sen's Olympic draw. He was placed in a group where he had to play an extra match, and which had Indonesian Jonatan Christie, at that point, looking good for a podium, if not gold. Jojo had beaten Sen the last couple of times, and would start as favourite. But it was some steely nerves and a pinpoint tactical game that helped the Indian get past the Indonesian, top the pool and get out of the group. But even before the draw, Anders Antonsen had made a pertinent point: he said Sen was a dangerous floater that everyone wanted to avoid early, and Christie felt the KO punches, as did Chou Tien Chen later. Sen's meltdowns against Viktor Axelsen and Lee Zii Jia which denied him a medal, deserve a separate piece. Not so much the tactics (though those can be threadbared in hindsight), but his inability to summon a certain kind of heavyweight game, when smashing or killing at the net, at the business end in Paris, and letting himself down psychologically, cost Sen those matches. But early in a tournament, when he was not tired in the mind, and fresh and motivated, Sen could snatch momentum away from Christie, a clear favourite. It's why playing Shi Yuqi – if he must, and he needs to – is a better proposition in Round 1 than in quarters, with a medal on the line. Let's call it the best of the worst-case scenarios. Sen is prone to over-training, putting inordinate pressure on his back and shoulder in needlessly rough training sessions, and exerting in the gym more than some think he ought to. He does this to be best prepared. But the back can backfire. He goes into the Paris Worlds with a massive hit on his confidence after the Olympics and first round exits on Tour, but as any coach would tell him, there's literally nothing to do about past disappointments. Yuqi is no slam-bang, impetuous hitter – but neither was Jojo. But the Chinese' vulnerability – the tiniest one – might be his eagerness to win a World title, which he hasn't all these years, but can this time. With Viktor Axelsen having pulled out, everyone will have breathed a sigh of relief, but Yuqi will be under some pressure to make that count, so having the devilishly disruptive Sen across the net, might be equally unpleasant for him, as his visage and elegant game will be for Sen. All of Kodai Naraoka, Loh Kean Yew, Li Shifeng and Alex Lanier are bunched in Sen's half, so it's going to be one painful ride if he gets past Yuqi to run into aggressive playing styles that he struggles against. But a badminton World Championship medal never came easy to anyone. The bitter-better, clutching-at-straws way of looking at things might be to glance at the draw, and thank the heavens for Kunlavut Vitidsarn for being in the other half. There's a similar toughening-up brief to be delivered to Satwik-Chirag. Satwik woke up on his birthday on Wednesday and was gifted Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in Round of 16, and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik potentially if they get past the Thais, in quarters. The Indians tend to start well these days, and should back themselves against the Chinese first up. The results aren't dizzying great, but the game is far more prepared for what Liang-Wang can throw at them. If the shoulders are alright, the Indians ought to think of Paris before the Olympic disappointment, when it was their favourite venue, where they won their last title. Aaron-Soh are fantastic players, but not unbeatable by the Indians. Luck can have its way with them, but even on a downturn, Satwik-Chirag make tournament semis, and can play the big game at will. Form book says India could end up with a second straight wretched August at Paris, and no medal for first time since 2010. But there's scores to settle with Paris, redemption arcs to traverse, and miles to go before Indian fans turn crabby.
