A reason to try harder<\/p>\n
Indonesia's defeat in the Southeast Asian Games soccer match
\nagainst question-mark Vietnam -- which had been away from the
\nGames for decades -- and the first-day shock of seeing the
\nmarauding Thais win gold almost at will was a bitter pill for
\nIndonesia to swallow. It certainly demoralized Indonesia's
\nathletes competing in Chiang Mai.<\/p>\n
Shocked by the high riding Thais who practically dominated all
\nthe final events, Indonesia's quest to be the overall champion of
\nthe Games came to naught, bringing home the bitter realization
\nthat something was wrong in this country's preparations for the
\nGames -- and, for that matter, with sports in this country in
\ngeneral.<\/p>\n
Indonesia finally threw in the towel in its fight to defend
\nits title as the region's number one sporting nation, with
\nofficials accepting defeat on the sixth day of the Games.<\/p>\n
As usual -- in the wake of any major disappointment -- there
\nhave been allegations of foul play by Thai officials during the
\nGames. After all some tricks here and there are hard to avoid in
\nany sporting event. However, it would be more relevant -- and
\nmore in the spirit of good sportsmanship -- to do some serious
\nsoul searching on our part and to try to determine where we went
\nwrong.<\/p>\n
In Bangkok, an Indonesian contingent official played down the
\nmounting allegations by some Indonesian coaches that Thailand was
\nusing any means to gain victory. As the official said, Indonesian
\nathletes underwent Herculean training stints in the run-up to the
\nGames, but "unfortunately, Thailand's athletes were more diligent
\nin adhering to their training programs. They have left us far
\nbehind".<\/p>\n
The Thais started grooming their sportsmen and women for the
\nGames shortly after the conclusion of the 1993 Games, apparently
\nsetting their sight on an even bigger event -- the 1998 Asian
\nGames -- even while they were training for SEA Games. Indonesia,
\nby contrast, did not kick off its training program for this
\nyear's SEA Games until April this year.<\/p>\n
It took some two years for the Thais to prepare themselves for
\nthese Games and the efforts were fully backed by the government
\nin cooperation with private business.<\/p>\n
Although the Thais had been preparing their athletes for two
\nyears with various training stints at home and abroad, Indonesia
\ndid not begin to get serious about training sessions until just a
\nfew months before the Games, reportedly due to difficulty in
\ngetting funds to finance the training program.<\/p>\n
Thus, what happened 10 years ago in Bangkok was repeated in
\nthe past nine days. Worse, the debacle was even more disturbing
\nbecause Indonesia did not even mount any serious challenge in the
\nrace for gold against Thailand..<\/p>\n
So let us be frank with ourselves: We were on the wrong track
\nin evaluating the development of sports in the region and we were
\nriding too much on our past glory, although more recently this
\nglory has not been as bright as it was years earlier. In the
\nManila SEA Games in 1991, for example, Indonesia's overall
\nvictory was decided by just one gold medal over the Philippines.<\/p>\n
As the torch of the 18th Games was put out at Chiang Mai and
\ndarkness fell over the stadium yesterday, there may have been
\nmany among us with a decidedly gloomy perspective of Indonesia's
\nsports future. However, surely there is no reason for total
\ndejection. With the talent that we have at hand -- and
\nconsidering our performance in the past -- there is no reason we
\ncannot make greater achievements, provided that the right
\napproaches be found. Let us, then, view this year's debacle in
\nits fitting light and do our best to see that such a thing does
\nnot happen again.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-reason-to-try-harder-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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