Experience interacting with para-athletes has further strengthened\nher view that para-sport needs not only facilities and training, but\nalso public attention and recognition.<\/p>\n
Jakarta (ANTARA) \u2014 Cheers and applause rang out in succession at\nNagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, Japan, on Sunday evening (18\nOctober).<\/p>\n
One by one, delegations taking part in the 2026 Asian Para Games\nAichi-Nagoya entered the stadium. Beneath the floodlights, athletes\nwaved to the stands. Some captured the moment on their mobile phones,\nwhile spectators continued to welcome each passing delegation.<\/p>\n
Amid the festivities, a phone call came through to the mobile of an\nANTARA reporter covering the parade of delegations.<\/p>\n
It was from Natalia Tjahja. On the other end of the line, the\nIndonesian woman excitedly said that a song she had composed would soon\nbe played during the opening ceremony.<\/p>\n
Not long afterwards, the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) anthem rang\nout across the stadium, forming part of a ceremony that brought together\nthousands of athletes and officials from 45 countries and territories\nacross Asia.<\/p>\n
Amid the grandeur of the international event was a work by an\nIndonesian composer.<\/p>\n
That composer was Natalia Tjahja, who in 2023 was entrusted with\ncreating the APC anthem alongside fellow Indonesian musician Dwiki\nDharmawan.<\/p>\n
The song lasts just one and a half minutes. For Natalia, however,\ncomposing it was not as simple as its brief running time might\nsuggest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1.5 minutes, I had to bring two things together,\u201d Natalia said,\nrecalling the creative process.<\/p>\n
Those two elements were a moving musical composition and a portrayal\nof the spirit of Asia in all its diversity.<\/p>\n
Natalia wanted every note to convey a message of brotherhood, unity\nand hope to athletes with disabilities from different countries.<\/p>\n
The anthem was first performed at the opening ceremony of the\nHangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games, held in China in October 2023,\naccompanying the raising of the APC flag.<\/p>\n
For Natalia, being given the commission had special meaning. She did\nnot accept payment and assigned the song\u2019s royalties to the APC as her\ncontribution to the development of para-sport.<\/p>\n
Three years later, the composition was heard again in Nagoya, as\nJapan hosted the Asian Para Games for the first time.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/one-and-a-half-minutes-1792410696", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }