Big Leap in Indonesian Paralympic Performance
The collection of two gold, three silver and four bronze medals put Indonesia in 43rd place in the medal tally, a far cry from the 2016 Rio Paralympics when Indonesia ended up in 76th place with only a bronze.
The recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Paralympics filled Indonesia with deserved joy and pride as the country’s disabled athletes produced their high-achieving performances.
Indonesia won a gold medal for the first time in the history of its participation in the modern Paralympics, which has been organized in parallel with the Olympics since 1988 in Seoul.
The collection of two gold, three silver and four bronze medals put Indonesia in 43rd place in the medal tally, a far cry from the 2016 Rio Paralympics when Indonesia ended up in 76th place with only a bronze.
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The total medal count was also the most Indonesia has ever notched up since it first participated in the Paralympics in Toronto 1979.
Para-badminton, which made its debut Paralympic competition at Tokyo 2020, was the biggest medal contributor with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
Leani Ratri Oktila stood out among the delegation members, playing her part in winning both golds, pairing with Hary Susanto in the mixed doubles event (SL3-SU5) and Khalimatus Sadiyah in the women\'s doubles (SL3-SU5). She also grabbed a silver in the women\'s singles (SL4).
Tokyo 2020 proved to be a carry-over from the consistent performance by Indonesia in para-badminton from the regional events -- the 2017 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Para Games and 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games – as well as the 2019 Basel Para-badminton World Championship.
Indonesia is actively involved in international events, including hosting the Indonesian Para-badminton Open as one of the tournaments on the official calendar of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
In the multi-event sporting showcase, Indonesia emerged the overall champion of the ASEAN Para Games (APG) twice, at APG VII Naypyidaw 2014 and APG IX Kuala Lumpur 2017. These facts prove that winning is no instant accomplishment.
Community support
The achievement cannot be separated from the government\'s strong faith in and support for the National Paralympic Committee (NPC). Since 2015, the NPC has been an independent and self-managed organization, no longer under the National Sports Committee (KONI) and the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI).
The move was in line with the international convention that the management of sports for persons with disabilities be under the NPC of the respective country, both in competition and development.
Indonesia\'s Hary Susanto, left, and Leani Ratri Oktila pose for photos after receiving a gold medal for mixed doubles SL3-SU5 gold medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.
With independent management and funding, NPC Indonesia is expected to become an inclusive and far-reaching sports organization that can cater more for athletes with disabilities with greater accessibility and improved facilities.
The Youth and Sports Ministry has shown its support for NPC Indonesia. In previous Paralympics, the Indonesian delegation had only four athletes (London 2012) nine (Rio 2016), on each occasion Indonesia being content with a bronze medal, before the government trusted the NPC to send 21 athletes to Tokyo 2020.
NPC Indonesia repaid the government’s trust with a great result, which is attributable partly to its capacity in organizing a centralized training camp in Surakarta, Central Java, ahead of the games.
Surakarta has been the headquarters of the NPC since 1951 when the national para-sports began to be developed.
The training workout was carried out under tight supervision and strict health protocols amid the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic situation that had delayed the Paralympics from 2020 to 2021.
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The Surakarta municipal administration and Central Java provincial government were strongly supportive of the NPC and the athletes with disabilities in their territory.
The progress in para-sports management is also attributable to academic support as shown by the Sports School of Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta (FKOR UNS). Most of the academics of FKOR UNS are involved with NPC Indonesia, either as trainers, technical officers (NTO/ITO) or classification officers.
Para-sports classification is a system to determine the level of impairment intended to group together athletes with similar levels of physical ability to allow fair competition.
Some postgraduate students of FKOR UNS take para-sports for their master\'s theses and doctoral dissertations, which can also be used as feedback for the athletics development.
The academic works are a manifestation of the role of sports science in helping efforts to improve the athletes’ performances. A number of new Paralympic sports, such as boccia and wheelchair fencing, have recently been introduced and developed in Indonesia facilitated by young academics.
Local community and national philanthropic organizations have also supported the NPC in para-sports development.
The 41 kg weight lifter Ni Nengah Widiasih won the first medal for the Indonesian contingent at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, at the Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo, Japan, Thursday (26/8/2021).
One of the national private companies engaged in the automotive sector is actively conducting campaigns about mobility, based on “the achievement in limitations” inspiration shown by the athletes with disabilities. An oil and gas company has also taken NPC Indonesia as its exclusive partner.What role can be played by members of society who have no athletic direct involvement in order to support para-sports development?
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People should no longer feel excessive pity about physical or mental impairment, but provide support for the athletes, instill national pride and use their inspiring achievements as a source of reflection about how they can meet the challenges of life despite their limitations.
Indonesia as a nation is increasingly moving toward an inclusive sports culture for all groups, including athletes with disabilities. This requires commitment to education and counseling in sports and among the athletes.
Sports ecosystem
In the future, the government needs to ensure that the para-sports competition develops well. The National Para-Games (Peparnas) and the Student Para-Games (Pepapernas) should be increasingly well organized, by featuring more sports in competition, to help ensure sustainable development and regeneration.
Similar to the case with the Olympic and Paralympic Games at international level, the National Games (PON), National Para-Games (Peparnas) and the National Student Games (Popnas) and its para event (Pepapernas) have to be consistently managed in balance. Likewise, single-event para-sport tournaments must be held regularly.
Currently, there are at least 19 sports for people with disabilities played in Indonesia. The Special School for Sports (SKO) for People with Disabilities, which was formed in 2018, also needs to be further developed, in terms of the number of students, sports and locations across Indonesia.
From these SKO, it is hoped that potential young athletes with disabilities will emerge and have equal access to sports education.
Local governments are expected to take a serious role in sports development programs and funding through the possible establishment of an SKO. From these SKO, it is hoped that potential young athletes with disabilities will emerge and have equal access to sports education.
A national sports transformation is needed to enhance the strategic preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics/Paralympics, which are less than a thousand days away. Para-sports should be an inseparable part of the national sports ecosystem.
Stakeholders in the same sports, between the Olympic and Paralympic Games, can work together to organize competitions in the framework of sporting excellence as well as in the spirit of societal inclusiveness.
Para-sports have the potential to become a sporting industry, as evidenced by the rapid development of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in the last two decades.
The design of Indonesian sports, as witnessed by the results in both the Olympics and Paralympics, certainly requires long-term and sustainable development.
United States\' Nick Mayhugh, centre, runs to win the men\'s T37 200-meters final during the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021.
Indonesia\'s dream of hosting the Olympics must also be pursued to its realization by improving performances, not only in sports for people in general but also in the sports for people with disabilities in particular given the fact that the Olympics and Paralympics are simultaneously hosted by the same nation.
As Prof Dr R Soeharso, the founder of sports for people with disabilities in Indonesia, stated, being physically impaired or not is not a measurement of one\'s ability. While sporting achievement can be the benchmark for the progress of a nation, para-sport development is also proof that the state upholds justice and an inclusive sports culture for people from all walks of life.
Nino Susanto, Member of the competition commission of the Asian Paralympic committee and lecturer in the School of Medicine University of Indonesia
(This article was translated by Musthofid).
