Donald Pandiangan: Google doodle celebrates 77th Birthday of Archery Legend, Robin Hood

Besides, scientist, Mária Telkes of Hungary, today Google also doodle on Indonesian archer, Donald Pandiangan on his 77th birthday.

Donald Pandiangan is an Indonesian archer who coached the archery team that won the country its first Olympic medal in 1988. He won more than 20 gold medals for his mastery of the bow and arrow at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), earning him the nickname the Robin Hood of Indonesia. As an athlete, he earned the nickname Indonesian Robin Hood for winning the Sea Games 4 times.

Donald Pandiangan was born on this day in Sidikalang, North Sumatra in 1945. He dreamed of becoming an engineer, but financial restraints prevented him from finishing college. Donald Pandiangan ended up working at a transport company, where he received a gift that would change the course of his life—an archery set.

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Although he started at the late age of 25, Donald Pandiangan fell in love with the sport and trained tirelessly. Three years later, he won his first gold medal at the 1973 Pekan Olahraga Nasional VIII (National Sports Week of Indonesia) in Surabaya. Four years later, he broke a world record in the 70m Recurve event at the 1977 PON IX in Jakarta.

Pandiangan won gold countless times between 1977 and 1987 at the SEA Games. In 1980, Pandiangan was at the peak of his career and nearly competed in the Summer Olympics in Moscow, but was unable to attend because Indonesia boycotted the event.

A few years later, he began coaching the women’s archery team for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Lilies Handayani, Nurfitriyana Saiman, and Kusuma Wardhani went on to win the silver medal—the first ever in Indonesian history.

Source: Google doodles

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