The Hiroshima debacle

The Hiroshima debacle

Frankly, it is with considerable reluctance that we now talk
about Indonesia's repeated failures in the contemporary
international sports arena. After all, we have no doubt that the
greatest efforts have been made by both our athletes and sports
officials to represent their country to the best of their
capabilities.

We believe, however, that last week's debacle at Hiroshima
could serve us all well as a reminder that surely something needs
correction in the management of sports in this country.

The failure at the 12th Asian Games, which closed on Sunday
has raised many eyebrows. After all, Indonesia, Southeast Asia's
largest country and one that is not without a proud history of
sports achievements, failed to place itself among the "big 10"
once the final medal tally was completed. We really suffered in
terms of both, quality and quantity.

It may not be at all surprising that China, with a population
of one billion, came out the overall winner with 137 gold medals.
The same may be said of South Korea, which placed itself in
second place, beating out Japan. Although South Korea has a
smaller population, it is well known for the drive and the high
sense of discipline of its people.

Indonesia -- with only three gold medals -- came out 11th,
just below Qatar, a tiny Middle East country of half a million
people. Two grades above Indonesia, is Malaysia, the frequent
champion of the Southeast Asia Games, which, up to last week, had
never overtaken us in sports.

The National Sports Committee, which was responsible for the
preparation and the sending of the Indonesian contingent to
Hiroshima, was apparently not very optimistic even before the
departure of the teams last month. The officials said they would
not set any specific targets, but promised to fight as best as
they could.

The two-week struggle there resulted in gold for Indonesia
only in badminton. And even so, Susi Susanti, our badminton
women's singles world champion, lost and had to settle for
bronze. Badminton seemed to have been the only branch we felt we
could rely on. And now, even in that sport, we have had to see
our position stolen out from under us by other nations.

Aside from all of that, a decades-old question seems to remain
relevant: What is wrong with the development of sports in our
country? Besides having a minister who is in charge of sports, we
have many high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen who are
involved in the management and development of sports. Yet our
achievements remain insignificant. Is it that our people are so
difficult to manage, or are we simply unable to properly develop
our sporting activities?

It its high time for this nation to determine where the real
hurdles are. Perhaps the nearest truth is that fewer and fewer
people can afford to spend time on sports, while those who can
lack proper training.

It seems to us that in the 1950s, for example, a whole lot
more students regularly took part in national sports activities.
Little wonder, perhaps, that Indonesia managed to place itself in
the No. 2 spot with 11 gold medals, after Japan in first place,
in the third Asian Games in Jakarta in 1962.

It certainly wouldn't hurt us to look more seriously into the
question of why, during the 1950s and 1960s, when "guidance" was
practically an unknown word, we seemed to do so much better in
the sports arena on a national, as well as an international
scale.

As for the present, no simple solution for our problem seems
to be in sight. But, in light of the fact that other countries
are said to have progressed because of their high sense of
discipline, we might perhaps begin by pondering the possibility
of asking our highly disciplined military officers to help manage
the training programs? This could be regarded as part of their
social function. And, who knows, our performance in the world of
sports might take a turn for the better.