After competition, comes celebration. For three hours, the medal-winning athletes of the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games took to downtown Jakarta. They needed to rush to work harder towards greater achievements.
By
REBIYYAH SALASAH
·5 minutes read
KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO
The U-22 Indonesian football team attends the carnival with the medalists at the 2023 SEA Games on Jalan Sudirman, Central Jakarta, Friday (19/5/2023).
Hundreds of people adorned in red and white crowded the street in front of the Youth and Sports Ministry in Central Jakarta from 7:30 a.m. on Friday (19/5/2023). This was the starting point for the parade of the Indonesian contingent, which won 87 gold, 80 silver and 109 bronze medals at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games.
The people wanted to participate in parading the medal-winning athletes, especially the U-22 football team. When the bus carrying the “Young Garuda” team arrived at around 8:30 a.m., the crowd began cheering and shouting enthusiastically. Their voices grew even more energetic when the parade started around 15 minutes later.
Indonesia finished third overall in the final standings of the 2023 SEA Games. However, Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo clarified that the celebration, dubbed “Kirab Juara” (champions carnival), was not held to celebrate Indonesia’s overall ranking, but to appreciate the Indonesian contingent for exceeding President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s target of bringing home 69 gold medals. Moreover, the celebration also aimed to appreciate several teams that made history.
“Much history was made. Such as in football, in which we won gold after 32 years, and in women’s basketball, in which we won gold for the first time. These moments were achieved because we planned to celebrate together from the beginning,” Dito told Kompas.
Pencak silat athlete Puspa Arumsari (30), who won the women’s singles gold, appreciated the people’s enthusiasm in celebrating the success of the Indonesian contingent. However, she was determined not to become complacent, as there was a bigger goal to achieve.
The Indonesian pencak silat team, said Puspa, rested for only a day before returning to Indonesia on Thursday (11/5), and then immediately returned to training to prepare for the 2023 Pencak Silat World Championships slated to take place at the end of the year.
What is important is that today, we can have fun and celebrate. But tomorrow, we have to get back to training.
The same was conveyed by swimmer I Gede Siman Sudartawa, who won gold in the men’s 50-meter backstroke. He said the parade allowed the athletes to celebrate the results of their hard work. However, the swimmer from Bali said he did not want to get carried away and would return to training.
“What is important is that today, we can have fun and celebrate. But tomorrow, we have to get back to training, because the 2022 Asian Games is just around the corner. After all this fun, we must train and focus again,” Siman said before the parade began.
REBIYYAH SALASAH
The swimmer who won gold in the men's 50 meter backstroke at the SEA Games 2023 Cambodia, I Gede Siman Sudartawa, was present at the opening ceremony of the parade in the courtyard of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Central Jakarta, Friday (19/5/2023).
Not only Football
According to Siman, the parade was also a means to let the public know that there were other popular sports aside from football. He also suggested that athletes be notified ahead of time if a parade would be held for them.
Siman only received the news that a parade would be held on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, like Puspa, the swimmer already had a training session scheduled for Friday. He suspected that the parade was held only because the football team won gold.
Siman’s suspicions are justified. A parade was not held for the last six SEA Games, even when Siman won gold and Indonesia emerged the overall champion at the 2011 SEA Games.
We should be treated the same, no sport should be treated differently.
Siman took part in the parade before deciding to go home. He felt that one sport received more special treatment than others, even though all athletes fought equally hard to win medals at the SEA Games. One example of this special treatment was seen during the opening and closing ceremonies.
“We fought hard and we both won medals. We should be treated the same, no sport should be treated differently,” he said.
Siman and a number of athletes from 13 other sports had been ready in the Youth and Sports Ministry’s yard since 8 a.m. However, the event had not started even after they had waited 20 minutes, because the football team had not yet arrived. Other athletes were asked to wait for Rizky Ridho and his teammates to arrive, but refused.
Crowds of people
The event finally started when Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chairman Erick Thohir informed sports minister Dito that the Young Garuda team was stuck at the entrance. With so many people crowding the entrance to the ministry, Erick said it was impossible for them to reach the location of the opening ceremony.
Shortly after the opening ceremony, the parade began, led by a Transjakarta double-decker bus carrying Indra Sjafri’s team. It was followed by a Bandung on Tour bus carrying the women’s basketball team. Meanwhile, Siman and a group of other athletes who had also boarded a bus were left far behind, as the road was filled with people.
Crowds lined almost the entire route of the parade, which started from the Youth and Sports Ministry on Jl. Sudirman, went past the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle and headed towards the Bung Karno Archer’s Statue. As a result, the buses were only able to travel 10 kilometers per hour. The buses finally reached their destination at 12 p.m.
“I apologize for holding the parade today and causing traffic jams. It is because these athletes have been training for a month and a half. They fasted here and spent [Idul Fitri] here as well. We had to wrap up the parade immediately so they [the athletes] could return to their respective hometowns,” Erick said in his speech at the HI traffic circle. (Z06)
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