Lack of new athletes costs Indonesian sports dearly

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Richard Sam Bera and Jonathan Sianturi come from different sports. The former is a swimmer, while the latter is a gymnast.

But both have something in common as regards their roles in national sport.

Both 31, they were the backbones and appeared to be the sole fighters in their respective sports at the recent 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

Richard and Jonathan have become the icons of national sport in their respective fields given their achievements at the regional-level multi-event sporting showcase: the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Richard has won one or more golds in every SEA Games he has participated in since 1989, as has Jonathan since 1987.

They came to the 2002 Asian Games in Busan on the back of their latest winning streaks in the 2001 SEA Games where they contributed two gold medals each in their respective disciplines.

However, at the 2002 Asian Games against the likes of China, South Korea and Japan, which have earned themselves worldwide reputations, Jonathan and Richard proved to be no match.

In track and field, Indonesia sent only three athletes only to come home empty handed. This was in stark contrast to the 1998 edition of the games where the team could still boast a gold medal through now-retired Supriati Sutono in the 5,000 meters.

Indonesia, which used to be the dominant force in the Southeast Asia region, seems now to have been demoted to the second rank behind Thailand and Malaysia.

The flops in the 1999 and 2001 SEA Games was a sign that Indonesia no longer has athletes who are up to the challenge.

The National Sports Council (KONI) and the sports organizations have always defended themselves, saying it is the monetary crisis, which has haunted the country since 1997, that has brought about the slump in the SEA Games.

There is some truth to this as lack of financial support has caused difficulties in finding quality coaches, sending athletes to overseas tournaments and providing the athletes with sufficient training facilities.

However, the most fundamental problem is that there has been inconsistencies in sports development, especially as regards regeneration.

KONI, which is supposed to be responsible for national sports development in general, has adopted a wrong approach to preparing for multi-event competitions like the SEA Games.

Its misguided approach is clearly shown by its reluctance to promote young athletes. This has meant that there are a lack of new faces who are ready to follow on when their seniors have called it a day.

KONI has always been too ambitious in its medal-winning goals, forcing its affiliated sports organizations to deploy as many seniors as possible, thereby shutting out the juniors from any opportunity to test their skills.

These juniors need an opportunity to upgrade their skills so that they will be ready when the time comes for them to take over from their seniors.

Before 1999, Indonesia had been a formidable competitor at almost every SEA Games, except for 1985 and 1995 when Thailand was the host.

But it appears that the country's success then only served to satisfy a short-lived craving for instant glory without any heed being paid to the issue of regeneration.

It is not only athletics, swimming and gymnastics that have been affected, but rather almost all fields of sporting endeavor that have experienced regression.

Ironically, KONI's approach contradicts the spirit of its nationwide sporting campaign known as the Garuda Emas (Golden Garuda) project.

The Garuda Emas project, which was first mooted a decade ago, is supposed to guide KONI in producing athletes who are ready to compete in any tournament, with the eventual goal being to get into the top six at the 2006 Asian Games.

One of the items stipulated in the Garuda Emas project concerns the golden age for athletes in each sporting discipline.

For instance, a swimmer will reach peak performance between 16 and 18, a gymnast between 18 and 24 and a track and field athlete between 18 and 23.

In the case of Richard and Jonathan, there places should have already been taken by younger athletes. The absence of young athletes who are ready to take over, however, has forced KONI to resort to its existing resources.

It appears that the Garuda Emas project has broken down due to the lack of government support.

Through the Ministry of National Education, the government should be able to mobilize a sports campaign through the schools so as to set up more sports training centers for junior high school and senior high school students. Such training centers are known by their Indonesian acronym as PPLP.

In addition to the number of PPLPs still being deficient, the program does not provide for continuity at the higher-education level. It was only in 2001 that college sports centers were established in two universities, one each in Central Java and East Java.

There is also little encouragement for the establishment of clubs, which are supposed to be the providers of potential athletes.

Given the outcomes of the last two Asian Games, which saw a regressive trend on the part of the Indonesian contingent, KONI should abandon its high hopes for the 2006 Asian Games, at which it wants a place in the top six among Asian nations as stipulated in the Garuda Emas project.

KONI would be better off redirecting itself to focus more on the Garuda Emas project so that Indonesian sports can recover over the next few years.

The year 2003 could be a good opportunity for evaluating the past and redesigning the future when KONI convenes in February to elect a new chairman.