Games over<\/p>\n
The 16th National Games (PON) officially closed in Palembang,
\nSouth Sumatra, in a triumphant fashion last night, as athletes
\nand spectators celebrated two weeks of the best sporting
\ncompetition the country has to offer. What was on offer varied
\nfrom the excellent to the mediocre, the average to the farcical.<\/p>\n
There was the world-record-breaking feat of lifter Sutrisno;
\nthe courage of Febi Subnafeu of East Nusa Tenggara, who crawled
\nbarefoot to finish a grueling three hour marathon; and the
\nbizarre postponement to the next day of the 15-minute extra
\nperiod of the soccer final between East Java and Papua because
\nthe floodlights were inadequate.<\/p>\n
Nearly 60 national records and one world record were broken.<\/p>\n
We congratulate all the athletes who participated --
\nirrespective of whether or not they won a medal -- for dedicating
\ntheir lives to their sports and giving their best during this
\nsporting feast.<\/p>\n
While medals and records are important, it is the spirit of
\nfair competition and brotherhood that we will cherish most from
\nthe Games.<\/p>\n
Let us remind ourselves of Pierre de Coubertain's closing
\nremarks at the 1908 Olympic Games, when he said that the most
\nimportant thing is not to win but to take part -- just as in
\nlife, where what is most important is not the triumph but the
\nstruggle.<\/p>\n
The Games were not about who's best. Every one of the
\nathletes, trainers and officials who participated leaves the
\nGames a winner if they put in their best and played fairly. The
\nyoung province of Gorontalo, with just two medals, should return
\nhome as proud as mighty Jakarta with a total haul of 361 medals.<\/p>\n
It is better to lose nobly than to win deceptively, yet, there
\nwere still occasions on which athletes and officials would let
\nemotions -- in the heat of the battle -- overcome their sense of
\ndecorum. There were still unruly scenes of officials physically
\ncharging at organizers and juries to protest what they perceived
\nas unfair decisions. Not becoming behavior in an arena that is
\nsupposed to exemplify the human spirit of fair play.<\/p>\n
As predicted, the Jakarta contingent reclaimed the PON crown
\nwith a gold medal tally of 141, nearly double that of its closest
\nrival East Java. Jakarta has traditionally been the dominant
\nforce of the quadrennial Games. Its dominance briefly gave way in
\n2000, when host East Java topped the medal rankings.<\/p>\n
We hope Jakarta will be magnanimous in their victory. But, It
\nis no accomplishment of which to boast per se. The capital has a
\ndistinct advantage over other provinces. It has the best sporting
\nfacilities, and the need to compete on a higher international
\nlevel often means the nation's best athletes migrate to the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
No small amount of recognition should also go to the people of
\nSouth Sumatra. They put on a fine Games. For the past fortnight
\nthey were distinguished as the hosts of the Games, not just for
\ntheir much-loved pempek (fish dumplings), the Musi River and the
\nAmpera Bridge.<\/p>\n
We hope the tradition of alternating provinces to host the
\nGames will continue. Initially, after the inaugural event in
\nSurakarta, Central Java, in 1948, the Games was hosted in turn by
\na number of cities -- Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Makassar and
\nSurabaya. But from PON VIII in 1973 to PON XIV in 1996, Jakarta
\nmonopolized the hosting of the Games, offering various reasons,
\nsome legitimate, some not.<\/p>\n
It was only in 2000 that the Games was again held in Jakarta.
\nWe welcome the next event, which is to be held in Kalimantan in
\n2004. Only in this way can our National Games truly serve its
\nfundamental purpose, of promoting sportsmanship and bringing us
\ntogether in brotherhood.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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