The government\'s appreciation for the nation’s sports heroes at the Tokyo Olympics was seen in the amount of the bonuses, which have been augmented compared to the Rio 2016 Olympics.
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ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH/NINA SUSILO
·6 minutes read
BPMI SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo walks accompanied by weightlifter Eko Yuli Irawan (left) and badminton player Greysia Polii at the Indonesian Contingent meeting for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at the Bogor Presidential Palace, Friday (13/8/2021).
The government has disbursed cash bonuses to all members of the Indonesian Olympic delegation to the Tokyo Summer Games. The bonuses are expected to motivate athletes to boost their performance further and inspire the sporting community.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS— There is a saying: “Pay workers their wages before their sweat dries.” This may be what occurred to President Joko Widodo as he handed over cash bonuses to Indonesian athletes and coaches at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The handover of the bonuses was symbolic of the government\'s hope that the athletes and coaches would become increasingly motivated to produce high achievements. It also served as a campaign to instill awareness among the public that sports could be a source of pride and provide a livelihood.
"Hopefully, this achievement can be an inspiration, role model, encouragement and motivation for all athletes and the people to continue to work hard and give the best for state and country," the President said at the appreciation ceremony for Indonesia’s Olympians, held at Bogor Palace on Friday (13/8/2021).
Indonesia fielded a total of 28 athletes to compete in eight sports at the recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics. They returned home with one gold medal won by badminton women\'s doubles Greysia Polii-Apriyani Rahayu, one silver won by Eko Yuli Irawan in the 61 kg weightlifting category, and three bronze medals won by fellow lifters Windy Cantika Aisah in the women’s 49 kg and Rahmat Erwin Abdullah in the men’s 73 kg events, as well as Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the badminton men\'s singles.
The government\'s appreciation for the nation’s sports heroes at the Tokyo Olympics was seen in the amount of the bonuses, which have been augmented compared to the Rio 2016 Olympics.
BPMI SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
Athletes and coaches who have competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics get a bonus. President Joko Widodo also conveyed his appreciation and congratulations.
Gold medal athletes received Rp 5.5 billion each, silver medal winners each received Rp 2.5 billion and bronze winners received Rp 1.5 billion each. The coaches of gold-winning events pocketed Rp 2.5 billion each, with Rp 1 billion for silver and Rp 600 million for bronze-winning events.
The amounts put Indonesia on the list of countries giving the heftiest Olympic bonuses in the world.
Five years ago, the bonus scale was Rp 5 billion, Rp 2 billion and Rp 1 billion for athletes who brought home an Olympic medal, and Rp 2 billion, Rp 800 million and Rp 400 million for their coaches. The amounts put Indonesia on the list of countries giving the heftiest Olympic bonuses in the world.
Athletes and coaches who didn’t win medals at the Tokyo Olympics were also awarded with a Rp 100 million bonus each, which is unprecedented for coaches.
The squads that didn’t win medals the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games still received an appreciation bonus of Rp 20 million, but only athletes received the bonus.
The process of disbursing the bonuses was also much quicker than the previous Olympics. The bonuses were handed over to the athletes and coaches just five days after the Tokyo Olympics ended, whereas the process took two months five years ago.
Incentive bonus
Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Gatot S. Dewa Broto said the athletes and coaches of non-medal squads deserved appreciation for qualifying for the Olympics, given that the road to Tokyo had not been easy and many athletes were unable to make it to the event.
"So the state felt obliged to extend [its] appreciation," he said.
Gatot viewed the bonuses as a symbol of the government\'s hope that the nation’s athletes would continue to strive for high achievements in the future. He also warned athletes against becoming complacent in just qualifying for an Olympics and feeling satisfied with the bonuses to come, regardless of whether they won a medal or not.
TANGKAPAN LAYAR
President Joko Widodo congratulated and expressed his pride through a video call with Greysia and Apriyani who won gold medals in the women\'s badminton doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, on Monday (2/8/2021).
"We believe athletes do not entertain that notion. All athletes want to win a medal as the pinnacle of achievement at the Olympics. This is something that must be pursued," he said.
Gatot expressed the hope that the bonuses would encourage people to not hesitate in signing up to become an athlete, because the profession could bring pride and provide a decent source of livelihood. "We want to create an Indonesian sports ecosystem that is stable like the one in developed countries such as the United States or Australia," he said.
Indonesian Olympic Committee chairman Raja Sapta Oktohari hailed the bonuses as a gesture of the government’s special appreciation for the athletes’ sporting achievements for Indonesia on the world stage.
"Sports stakeholders must be encouraged to ensure much improvement in achievements, especially at the Olympics," he said.
Sports development
Glenn C. Apfel, who chairs the training and education commission of the Indonesian Shooting Association, said that athletes should be grateful for the bonuses that urged them to be more motivated in pursuing an achievement. He said that Indonesian athletes and coaches’ welfare still rested largely on government’s support.
He warned the government against appreciation being addressed in isolation to athletes, reminding it that behind athletes’ successes were the roles of coaches and sports management boards that also strived for the athletes to excel at the international level.
He said that the bonuses for athletes and coaches were still imbalanced, with athletes getting much bigger bonuses than coaches despite their achievements being the result of teamwork with the indispensible contribution of coaches.
Dikdik Zafar Sidik, a sports and health education lecturer from Indonesian Education University, said that bonuses should be given to athletes and coaches in a wise manner that took into account the budget.
AFP/VINCENZO PINTO
Silver medallist Indonesia\'s Eko Yuli Irawan stands on the podium for the victory ceremony of the men\'s 61kg weightlifting competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo on July 25, 2021.
He reminded the government to focus more on improving coaching quality in order to gain better achievements in the next editions of the Olympics.
“In order to optimize the coaching process, the budget needs to be adjusted to the program. It should not be the other way around with programs adjusting to the budget, as has often been the case so far," he said. (DRI/INA)
