Games people play
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.