ASEAN Games attract little interest<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
Since the opening ceremony on Sunday, the 12th ASEAN
\nUniversity Games have raised little interest, with only small
\nnumbers of local people turning up at events.<\/p>\n
Taxi driver Hari Purnomo, who was parked by a kiosk near the
\nGelora Delta Stadium in Sidoarjo, said that he was not even aware
\nabout the event.<\/p>\n
Sidoarjo, around 20 kilometers south of here, is hosting
\nathletics, soccer and volleyball competitions. Meanwhile,
\nSurabaya is holding the badminton, basketball, pencak silat,
\nsepak takraw, swimming, tennis, and table tennis events.<\/p>\n
\"Are you serious ... there is a big sports event taking place
\nhere in Surabaya? I haven't seen many people coming to the Gelora
\nDelta Stadium, not like during the 2000 PON,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the quadrennial, multi-event National
\nGames, which Surabaya hosted in 2000.<\/p>\n
Hari's query was reasonable given that there has been
\nvirtually no promotion for the event in Surabaya and its
\nsurrounding areas.<\/p>\n
\"If the organizing committee made more effort to promote the
\nevent, I think people like taxi drivers and street vendors would
\nbe able to earn more income,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Only a few dozen spectators turned up at each of the badminton
\nmatches, which concluded on Monday. The same applied in the case
\nof the track, tennis, table tennis and volleyball events.<\/p>\n
The lackluster response to the University Games has not
\nsurprised the visitors from abroad.<\/p>\n
The manager of the Thai athletics team, Tavorn Kamutsri, said
\nthat given the lack of promotion he had not expected large
\nnumbers of spectators at the venues.<\/p>\n
\"Well, I've seen nothing about this event on TV, in the
\nnewspapers, at the airport, so we can't expect large numbers of
\nspectators. This is always a problem with the University Games,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
According to Kamutsri, spectators had also been few and far
\nbetween during the 11th University Games in the Philippines two
\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
Posters and banners advertising the Games, are only to be seen
\nat the venues in the Gelora Delta Stadium, the Surabaya State
\nUniversity, and Airlangga University, despite the fact that a
\ntotal of Rp 7 billion has been allocated on promotion.<\/p>\n
In the absence of strong official support, therefore, it is
\nhardly surprising that only a few people have turned up at the
\nevents.<\/p>\n
While lacking promotion, the event has still drawn media
\nattention.<\/p>\n
Leading national daily Kompas is giving full-page coverage in
\nits East Java edition while its rival Jawa Pos is also devoting
\nquite a lot of space to the event.<\/p>\n
Some 900 athletes and officials from ten countries in
\nSoutheast Asia are participating in this year's University Games,
\nwhich will end on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Some of the athletes in Surabaya participated in the Athens
\nOlympics, like Indonesian sprinter Edi Zakaria, who is entered in
\nthe 110-meter hurdles, and Thai female high jump athlete Noeng
\nRuthai Chaipech.<\/p>\n
Others also have experience in taking part in the region's
\nmajor biennial event, the Southeast Asia (SEA) Games, like female
\n100-meter sprinter Deysi Sumigar of Indonesia, and male 400-meter
\nhurdler Apisit Kuttivan of Thailand.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-games-attract-little-interest-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}