Games people play

The Asian Games, which wound up in Bangkok on Sunday, left Indonesia with a mixture of feelings, from pride to apprehension.

The haul of six golds the Indonesian contingent is bringing home is an improvement over the three golds it collected in Hiroshima, Japan, four years ago. Indonesian sports officials can also pride themselves for reaching the target of six gold medals which they set themselves before leaving for Bangkok.

Indonesia faltered in badminton, returning with only two gold medals, and weightlifting, where it collected none, but other athletes saved the day and made up for the shortfalls. The results showed Indonesia succeeded in moving away from relying too much on badminton and weightlifting to maintain its standing in regional sporting circles. Army sergeant Supriati Sutono won the 5,000-meters run to present Indonesia with its first track and field gold in 36 years. In the overall medal tally, Indonesia finished ninth, a more respectable position than the 11th position it finished in Hiroshima.

Yet how well Indonesia performed cannot simply be compared against past performances, or against a set of targets set by officials. The athletes were selected, trained and sent to compete for the honor and glory of the people they represent.

Their performance, first and foremost, must therefore be rated against athletes from other countries. Here, the country's final ranking in the medal table is a pathetic reminder that Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, trails way behind many other countries with much smaller populations. Further analysis shows that our performances were found particularly wanting in the most prestigious and competitive sports. With the exception of Supriati's unexpected victory, Indonesian athletes were nowhere near the podium in the track and fields events. Indonesia, whose territory includes thousands of square kilometers of sea, was not even represented in the swimming pool because none of its athletes could beat the minimum times required to take part. Indonesia was absent from the soccer, thanks to the disgraceful performance of the national team during the Tiger Cup tournament in Hanoi in September.

Indonesia's meager performance in Bangkok once again raised the perennial question of whether it is really difficult to find talented athletes from among the 210 million population. Or is this a cultural problem, in that Indonesians, as a nation, are not competitive by nature. The strong desire for conformity and harmony that prevails in our culture and society may explain the lack of the crucial competitive spirit needed to succeed in international sport, or business for that matter. If this is true, this is a horrifying prospect for our country's survival in an increasingly competitive world.

We doubt, however, that this nation is short of potential, or is lacking in competitive spirit. More likely, the problem, as is often the case with other problems we find in this country, is one of management and priority.

Even during the best of economic times, sports development received scant attention. Most schools built by the government do not even come with the most basic facilities for physical education. Most housing complexes that have mushroomed in urban centers and in city suburbs neglect basic social facilities, such as a decent park for children to play in. We have witnessed the burgeoning of fancy sports and fitness centers, but these are aimed at wealthy Indonesians, who have the least incentive to be competitive.

The new millennium, which is just one year away, will see a completely different ball game. Open competition will govern almost all aspects of international relations, be it sport, politics or business. A nation's rise and fall will depend on its ability to survive rigorous competition. If the ranking in the Asian Games medals tally is a measure of Indonesia's overall competitiveness, gamesmanship and sportsmanship, then this country has a lot of catching up to do, regionally, let alone globally, before it can be ranked among the greatest nations in the world or even one that is commensurate with its size.