Indonesia lags behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in Olympic sports and this could not be more apparent than in the recently ended 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
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The “Red and White” contingent finished in fourth place in the final medal tally, with 72 golds, 84 silvers and 111 bronzes. In terms of ranking and medal achievement, this was an improvement from the Malaysia 2017 SEA Games, when Indonesia finished fifth with a haul of 38 golds, 63 silvers and 90 bronzes.
The success merits appreciation. Furthermore, the medal achievement at this year’s SEA Games far surpassed the original target of 45 golds, which was then revised to 60 golds.
That around 65 percent of Indonesia’s contingent was filled with young athletes, with regeneration as a consideration, surely contributed to the achievement. With respect to regeneration, the Youth and Sports Ministry said that the 2019 SEA Games was only an intermediate target toward higher achievements, such as the Asian Games and the Olympics.
It was apparent we lag behind in Olympic sports.
Nevertheless, these facts should not make us complacent. There are at least two reasons why Indonesia must work hard to ensure sustainable development of its athletes.
First, it was apparent we lag behind in Olympic sports. In athletics, of the 49 golds up for grabs, the Red and White team won only five golds, four silvers and two bronzes. With five golds, Indonesia sat in fifth place on the athletics’ medal tally. We lagged far behind Vietnam at the top with 16 golds, 12 silvers and 10 bronzes, followed by Thailand in second place with 12 golds, 11 silvers and 12 bronzes.
In swimming, another Olympic sport with 38 golds on offer, Indonesia only won one gold by I Gede Siman Sudartawa. Singapore reigned supreme in swimming with 23 golds, 10 silvers and four bronzes.
Why do we lag behind? Among the answers is that we lag behind in athlete development in Olympic sports. Meanwhile, neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore have been focused on developing athletes in basic sports such as athletics, gymnastics and swimming since at least 2000.
Our failure to develop athletes in Olympic sports brings us to our second problem, namely our heavy reliance on senior athletes in certain sports. Three of our athletic golds, for instance, were won by Agus Prayogo, 34, and Maria Londa and Hendro Yap, both 29. Swimming’s lone gold medalist Siman has been a mainstay since the 2011 SEA Games.
We cannot delay concentrating on Olympic sports any longer. We need to focus on this and implement sports sciences, which is common in many countries. Also, we cannot forget to put the welfare of our athletes first, so they can give their best in fighting for Indonesia.