RI athletes raring to go for gold
RI athletes raring to go for gold
Zakki Hakim and Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Djoko Pramono, chief-de-mission of the Indonesian delegation
to the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, sent out the message loud and
clear: 'We won't be sitting back on our haunches.' The SEA Games
will kick off on Friday in Vietnam.
"We are not dozing after a serious seven-month workout," he
said before the departure of the second group of Indonesian
athletes to Vietnam.
Djoko is in charge of development at the National Sports
Council (KONI).
As an aide to KONI chairman Agum Gumelar, Djoko has stressed
that the 2003 SEA Games, which will run from Dec. 5 to 14, should
be taken as a stepping-stone to higher international tournaments.
The policy means that Indonesia, which has less of a
competitive edge today than in the past, will not be pushing for
the overall championship.
Indonesia enjoyed a glorious standing as overall champions
since its initial entry into the SEA Games in 1977 until two
years ago. In 2001 and 2002, respectively, rivals Thailand and
Malaysia took home the trophy.
Djoko is confident about his team, made up of young athletes
with the potential of being forged into strong future contenders.
"But this doesn't mean we will be complacent about getting
more experience. We will be fighting it out," he said.
"We are not fighting for the (overall) championship, but to
win as many golds as possible."
Given the results in 1999 and 2001, years when Indonesia
finished third, Djoko said that the pendulum of strength had
swung away from Indonesia and that hoping to rank number one in
Vietnam would be a dream not to come true.
On Tuesday, 379 athletes and officials embarked on their
flight to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the host cities of the
Games.
Indonesia is sending 597 athletes and 269 officials, who will
be competing in 28 of the 32 events in Vietnam.
The athletes are representing Indonesia in archery, aquatics,
athletics, badminton, basketball, billiard, boxing, canoeing,
chess, cycling, fencing, fin-swimming, gymnastics, judo, karate,
pencak silat, sepak takraw, shooting, soccer, table tennis, tae
kwon do, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, and wushu.
The first group of the Indonesian delegation, comprising 242
members, left on Friday, and the remainder will make the journey
between Dec. 3 and Dec. 7.
Indonesia will be looking to collect around 70 gold medals
from the 427 on offer.
Agum, also the Minister of Communications, saw off the
athletes in an official ceremony with words of encouragement,
saying they would be able to achieve a satisfying performance.
He was confident that the squad was ready both physically and
mentally, and was thus optimistic about their performance.
Agum also reminded the athletes of their non-sporting tasks as
Indonesia's envoys to foster good relations with neighbors
through sports.
The athletes looked in high spirits and optimistic.
Siti Nurjanah, a beach volleyball player, told reporters that
she would do her best in the SEA Games and asked for support from
all Indonesians.
"Pray for us, and wish the contingent the best," she said.
Fencing athlete Indra Krisnamusi said he was fired up about
the competition and hoped he would become part of the Indonesia
Awakens program.
The program aims to net the 100 best athletes from the SEA
Games in preparation for bigger events, such as the 2006 Asian
Games in Qatar.
"Such a scheme would certainly brighten the future of
Indonesian sports in the region, as well as the athletes'
future," he said.