Not much to shout about for RI public

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The imminent opening of the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games was news to marketing consultant Farid.

"I didn't know that the SEA Games was being held ... Do we have a chance of winning, because it doesn't seem like our athletes are performing any great feats to make us proud."

A lack of interest in national sports is shared by many members of the public, with badminton players and world champion boxer Chris John among the few reasons to celebrate in international competition.

From being the region's sports powerhouse in the 1980s and early 1990s, the nation now lags behind Thailand, with Vietnam also a formidable competitor.

Sports fans have learned that they cannot expect too much.

"I hope Indonesia wins the match, but a draw is OK as I know we are no longer the best in Southeast Asia," Rahmat said as he watched the TV broadcast of the national men's soccer team taking on Myanmar earlier this week.

"Overall I don't know about our chance to win the SEA Games, but I want to see them fight hard even if they lose."

Indonesia has not triumphed in the overall medal standings since 1997 in Jakarta; in the following Games in Brunei, it slipped to third in the rankings for the first time since the regional multisport event began in 1959.

At the 2003 Games in Vietnam, Indonesia again finished third with 221 medals, behind the host country (346) and runner-up Thailand (281).

Chef de mission Djoko Pramono conceded in September that Indonesia was unlikely to take the overall medal honor for a 10th time in the Philippines.

However, Djoko, who is also the deputy chairman of the National Sports Council (KONI), does not want the 779-strong contingent to put in a half-hearted effort.

"We want every athlete to win medals in the SEA Games, we are not going to the Philippines for pleasure or to seek experience."