Track-and-field athletes train at the ASEAN Para Games national training camp at the stadium of Sebelas Maret University in Solo, Central Java, Monday (4/9). The national training camp is facing a number of obstacles ahead of the ASEAN Para Games 2017, held on Sept. 17-23 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but athletes and coaches remain optimistic.
SOLO, KOMPAS – Amid the many obstacles faced by athletes at the national training camp, a number of athletes and coaches remain optimistic about Indonesia’s chances of achieving its target of becoming overall champions of the 9th ASEAN Para Games at Kuala Lumpur 2017 (KL2017). The failure of the Indonesian contingent to reach its target at the29th SEA Games will, in fact, be a source of motivation to achieve better results.
Swimming coach coordinator Dimin said he was optimistic that Indonesia would be able to achieve the targeted 30 gold medals in the 84 categories it will be competing in at the ASEAN Para Games2017. His optimism comes from observing the times clocked by athletes at the national training camp in Solo, Central Java, which has been approaching their best recorded times.
Swimmer Musa Karubaba, for example, recorded a time of 26.12 seconds in the men’s 50-meter freestyle. This is close to Musa’s best time of 25.90 seconds, which won him a gold medal in the ASEAN Para Games 2015 in Singapore. In the 100-meter freestyle category, Musa clocked 59 seconds, only slightly over the 58 seconds he recorded in Singapore to win the gold.
“The deciding factor is the athlete’s motivation. Therefore, we continue to motivate them. This is a chance to make up for Indonesia’s defeat in the SEA Games, so it must be better than SEA Games,” said Dimin on Tuesday (5/9) in Solo.
Like the athletes of other events, the Paralympic swimming team was also facing the problems of not being provided equipment and the late incentives for athletes. This affects the athletes psychologically.
In the track-and-field event, which is a potential source of medal wins, coach Adul Aziz is optimistic that the athletes would come away with 41 gold medals in 90 categories. After training hard in the national training program, several athletes have surpassed their training targets.
During training, sitting discus thrower Riyadi Saputra, 35, broke his own record that won him the gold medal in the Singapore 2015Para Games. In Singapore, he recorded a 27-meter throw, while in training he threw 30 meters.
Weightlifter Ni Nengah Widiasih, 24, a silver medalist at the Rio 2017 Paralympics, said she is eyeing the gold in the 45 kg class. In training, she lifted 100 kg, beating her own record of 95 kg in the 41 kg class at the ASEAN Para Games 2015, when she won the gold.
“We will try to give our best for Indonesia. Hopefully, the target of becoming overall champions can be achieved,” she said.
Meanwhile, middle distance runner Timin, who has not received monthly cash incentives since April, said that he will remain motivated to win another gold in the men’s 1,500 m category. Timin also vows to contribute with more gold medals from the 400 m and 800 m categories.
The lack of government assistance has forced four Paralympic cyclists to train independently, paying their way themselves with support from their coaches. Cyclist M Fadli trained in Sentul, West Java, while Saori Sufyan trained in Bandung.
Two handcycling athletes, Ni Kadek Karya Dewi and I Wayan Damai, trained in Bali with support from the Bali Sports Foundation.
Indonesia Sport Cycling Association chairman Puspita Mustika, who is on the Paralympics committee, was also optimistic that the Paralympic cyclists could win two or three gold medals in the 10 categories they will be competing in.
Payment Soon
Separately, Youth and Sports Ministry Secretary Gatot S Dewa Broto said that the ministry would soon disburse honorariums and accommodation funds for the Paralympic athletes at the ASEAN Para Games 2017 national training camp. Of the 250 athletes preparing for the Para Games at the national training camp in Solo, 10 athletes have not yet received their honorariums.
“Some of the reasons it has not been received are because [the athletes’] bank accounts are not active and have less than the minimum balance the bank requires. There are also accounts that cannot receive transfers because of a data error or because the status of the account holder is civil servant employee,” Gatot said yesterday after a meeting evaluating the Para Games contingent’s preparation.
Youth and Sports Minister Assistant Deputy for Sports Achievement Chandra Bhakti, speaking in his capacity as an official of the Satlak Prima task force assigned to groom and improve athletes, said that the distribution of competition equipment to the Para Games athletes would be completed on Saturday (9/9). Among the reasons for the equipment’s late provision was because the ministry had only received the list of requested equipment from the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) on Aug. 7.
The head of the ASEAN Para Games Indonesian contingent, Bayu Rahadian, said that the names of the 197 athletes that will be competing in the games would be released by the sports minister on Sept. 12.
