Amidst the continuing concerns about holding a major sports event during the pandemic, PON Papua 2021 ended on Friday (15/10/2021).
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KOMPAS EDITOR
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Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo
Papuan players appoint their coach Eduard Ivak after winning the 2021 Papua PON soccer final match against Aceh at the Mandala Stadium, Jayapura City, Papua, Thursday (14/10/2021). Papua won the gold medal after beating Aceh with a score of 2-0.
As a national multi-sport tournament, the National Games (PON) should ideally be the portrait of our country’s sports development. Has this been achieved? Some questions still need answering.
Amidst the continuing concerns about holding a major sports event during the pandemic, PON Papua 2021 ended on Friday (15/10/2021). The health protocols were not implemented optimally, so clusters of Covid-19 transmission occurred. As of Thursday (14/10), 92 athletes and officials had contracted Covid-19.
Apart from the issue of the less than stringent health protocols, the issue of sports achievements is no less important, considering the number of indications that athlete regeneration is stagnating, which is quite worrisome, especially if we want to strengthen our sports at the international level by focusing on certain Olympics sports.
One indication of this lack of athlete regeneration is that senior athletes continued to dominate several popular sports at PON Papua 2021, as evidenced by the gold medals they won, with some winning more than one medal.
In swimming, senior swimmer I Gede Siman Sudartawa won two gold medals, one each in the men's 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke. Siman, who competed for Jakarta, has been known as a national swimmer for around 15 years.
Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo
The women's water polo team of DKI Jakarta rejoices after defeating the women's water polo team of West Java in the final match of the women's water polo PON Papua 2021 in the swimming pool of the Lukas Enembe Stadium Complex, Papua, Monday (25/9/2021).
Agus Prayogo, Indonesia's flag-bearing long-distance runner who represented West Java at the Games, also remains too strong for his younger rivals. Agus, who has long ranked among the nation’s elite runners, won three gold medals in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and the marathon. He even mentioned that he was waiting for young runners to catch up with him.
Another indication of stagnation in athlete regeneration is none other than the fact that several national records continue to remain unchallenged, some up to 30 years. That a few PON and national records were broken at the Papua 2021 Games deserves appreciation, such as South Sumatran runner Sri Mayasari breaking the national record in the women's 400 m. Sri clocked a time of 53.22 seconds, 37 years after Emma Tahapary claimed the national record in 1984.
In swimming, Ressa Kania Dewi of East Java broke the PON record in the women's 200 m breaststroke. Ressa's time of 2 minutes 33.97 seconds shaved a little over 2 seconds from previous record holder Rita Mariani’s time of 2 minutes 36.13 seconds.
In fact, specific targets were set for certain events, especially in timed sports like athletics and swimming.
Supposedly, efforts to improve athletes’ achievements can be planned more carefully with the advancements in sport science. In fact, specific targets were set for certain events, especially in timed sports like athletics and swimming.
Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo
West Java players Ratri Wulandari (2) and Wilda Siti Nurfadhilah (17) intercepted attacks from Central Java players in the 2021 Papua PON women's volleyball final at Koya Koso Sports Center, Jayapura City, Papua, Tuesday (12/10/2021). The West Java women's volleyball team won over Central Java with a score of 25-16, 25-14, 25-18.
We are grateful that several young stars emerged at PON Papua 2021, such as Odekta Naibaho and Sri Mayasari in athletics, Rio Aditya in swimming, and Nurul Akmal in weightlifting, as well as a number of other young athletes. However, the rise of young stars in the sports arena must be better planned and manifested through a continuous coaching program.
(This article was translated byKurniawan Siswoko).
