What's gone wrong?<\/p>\n
Tomorrow 4,000 of the best sportsmen and women of this region
\nwill march into the Chiang Mai stadium for the opening ceremony
\nof the 18th Southeast Asian Games. Participants in this grand
\nsports festival will include Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia,
\nMalaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, host
\nThailand and defending overall champion Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Ten years ago in Bangkok we saw how vigorously the host
\nathletes fought it out to win in almost every competition and how
\nwe lost, event by event, in each sport we had previously
\ndominated. The obvious question is: Will we again have to swallow
\nthis bitter pill in Chiang Mai?<\/p>\n
That is a question our athletes must answer after the games
\ncommence on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Thai authorities have been preparing their athletes well.
\nMany of the best have been sent abroad for training. So they may
\nexcel in the events in which they compete and will do their best
\nto emerge as the overall winner.<\/p>\n
In previous games there have been flaws and errors, in
\nparticular in officiating and refereeing. It is, after all, usual
\n-- though perhaps not quite in the spirit of the Olympic movement
\n-- that every host country tries to take the fullest advantage of
\nbeing on home ground and having the crowd's support.<\/p>\n
However, Thailand has vowed to make the 18th Southeast Asian
\nGames the best gathering in the 38-year history of this regional
\nsports extravaganza.<\/p>\n
\"In the spirit of brotherhood among the SEA Games Federation
\nmembers, Thailand as the host will make the Games the best and
\nthe most successful event,\" declared Santiparb Tejavanija, the
\nvice chairman of the technical committee of this year's games,
\ndenying claims that, as the host, Thailand would do everything to
\ncome out as the overall champion.<\/p>\n
\"We guarantee that the Games will be staged fairly and
\nsquarely and to let the best athletes win,\" said Santiparb, who
\nis also the secretary-general of Thailand's National Olympic
\nCommittee.<\/p>\n
Still, host Thailand is more likely than Indonesia to grab the
\noverall title at the Games this time, as Chairat Kamnuan, the
\ndeputy chairman of Thailand Olympic Committee, has predicted.<\/p>\n
Thailand's estimation, in fact, does not differ much from one
\nmade by noted Indonesian sports observer Mangombar Ferdinand
\nSiregar, a former secretary-general of the Indonesian National
\nSports Committee. Except for badminton and a few other sports in
\nwhich Indonesia excels on the international stage, this country's
\nsports performance has suffered a decline in the past few
\ndecades.<\/p>\n
Why? According to the national committee's deputy chairman,
\nArie Sudewo, the answer is that sports are no longer popular
\namong Indonesian youths. By way of illustration, when President
\nSoeharto opened the 11th Asian Track and Field Championships on
\nSept. 20 in Jakarta, the Senayan Madya stadium was packed with
\nschoolchildren. But as soon as the President had left, the
\nstadium was became almost empty, even though the competition was
\nfar from over.<\/p>\n
The schoolchildren were not interested in watching the track
\nand field competition. They were there, Arie said, because they
\nwere required to be there.<\/p>\n
\"So, can you expect them to take sports seriously, let alone
\nbe good at it?\" asked Arie.<\/p>\n
Why are sports no longer popular among Indonesia's youth? Even
\nafter the significant efforts that have been made to provide
\nincentives for the attainment of sporting excellence?<\/p>\n
It could be that a more comprehensive approach must be taken
\nto the problem, involving greater participation by experts and
\nauthorities from other fields. The fact that, at present, so few
\nsports facilities can be found in our big cities -- these are
\nlacking, indeed, in too many of our schools -- is an indication
\nthat sports are no longer popular among the population as a
\nwhole.<\/p>\n
Surely, this, too, is a factor to be considered.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/whats-gone-wrong-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }