Indonesia Sports Emergency
Indonesian lifter Deni salutes the crowd after completing a clean and jerk lift in the 2017 Sea Games men’s 69-kilogram final at the Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Center, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday (29/8). Deni, lifting a total of 312 kg, won the gold medal after beating Thailand lifter Trirat Boonsuk’s 310-kg lift and Vietnam’s Pham Tuan Ank, who lifted 306 kg.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The failure of the Indonesian contingent to achieve the targeted number of medals at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games signals an emergency in the development of Indonesian athletes.
A thorough evaluation needs to be made for the “Red and White” to achieve success on the international stage.
As of 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday (29/8), Indonesia has only won 38 gold, 62 silvers and 89 bronze medals, which puts it in fifth place in the overall medals table.
Indonesia’s medals tally shows that the country’s sports teams are no longer a competitive force, even in the Southeast Asian level.
The current number of gold medals won is less than the initial target of 55 gold medals. As of Tuesday night, some Indonesian athletes were still playing in several events, such as diving and pencaksilat (traditional form of martial arts).
However, with the SEA Games 2017 set to end on Wednesday (30/8), Indonesia will not be able to add 18 gold medals to its tally. On Tuesday night, Thailand won the football final 1-0 against Malaysia.
Sports observer Fritz Simanjuntak said that Indonesia’s failure in SEA Games 2017 is proof of the mismanagement of the country’s sports.
“Mismanagement happens because the government never focuses on athlete development. By always targeting medals, the government manages Indonesian sports in an instantaneous manner,” Fritz said on Tuesday afternoon.
He said that the matter of facilities and infrastructure, which is the responsibility of the government, has never been addressed. A simple example is that the basic of sports is running, but Jakarta does not have any decent running facilities.
“Even facilities and infrastructure are not given any thought, let alone the other [aspects of sports],” Fritz said.
If facilities and infrastructure are not a concern for the government, Fritz said, people should not be surprised that the athletes’ needs, like training equipment, pocket money and health, also escape the government’s attention.
“The government, on one hand, demands medals, but on the other hand, it does not care [about its athletes],” he said.
Fritz is concerned because this problem continues to happen without being properly addressed.
The tiered-development system and smooth disbursement of budget funds, Fritz said, is a must if Indonesian sports is to progress.
Yogyakarta State University Sport Science professor Djoko Pekik Irianto said that Indonesia’s failure to come home with 55 gold medals could already be predicted from the time it was fighting to get certain events and categories into the Games.
“In the initial stage, the one working [on the SEA Games] was KOI [Indonesian Olympic Committee], when it should be Satlak Prima [a task force assigned to groom and improve athletes to win gold]. I also noticed that Prima and KOI have not been working in unity. KOI and Prima should advocate for Indonesia’s flagship events and categories,” he said.
Djoko further observed that Satlak Prima had been unable to implement the right strategy. He said that once the task force knew that some of Indonesia’s favored events and categories would not be included, it should do its best to prepare for those that are.
“We cannot say, ‘Well, because the favored events and categories are not included, we don’t have a target.’ We still need to have a target in the SEA Games, but it should be for the events and categories included in the Asian Games 2018. Because next year, we will be focusing on the Asian Games. The Olympics events should be optimized. So, the target is events and categories for the Olympics,” Djoko said.
Everything done last minute
“Last minute” moves, as observed by Kompas, happened in various final stages of preparations for the 2017 SEA Games. On Aug. 2, for example, KOI issued a press release claiming the target for the Indonesian contingent was 61 gold medals.
The funds for the Indonesian contingent competing in Malaysia was only disbursed to KOI on Aug. 10, nine days before SEA Games was officially opened and three days before the first batch of athletes flew to Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 13.
Some athletes only received playing equipment a few weeks before heading off to the 2017 SEA Games, when clearly, any equipment would need to be tuned by the athletes and the tuning of equipment would require tests in the real arena.
The Indonesian recurve archery athletes, for example, only received their recurve bows two months before the Games started, and therefore the athletes ended up choosing to use their old bows that have been well-tuned for the best possible performance.
Fortunately, the archery team managed to achieve its target of four gold medals and it also brought home one silver and one bronze medal. Indonesia’s bike racing athletes also raced using their old bikes, because the new bikes that were bought for the 2017 SEA Games were still held by customs.
Understand the concern
Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi apologized for the underachievement of the Indonesian contingent at the 2017 SEA Games. Even though the event is still ongoing, Imam is responsible for the underachievement of the Indonesian athletes.
The government has noted everything that has taken place at this year’s SEA Games and will use its observations to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the contingent’s performance.
Imam understands the concerns of the public.
“The concern is normal. We are all concerned. I need to apologize and be responsible for Indonesia’s achievement in the SEA Games. This will definitely be a source of evaluation for us,” Imam said before attending a cabinet plenary meeting at the State Palace on Tuesday.
In relation to Indonesia’s underachievement, Imam has ordered Satlak Prima and KOI to note important points related to the 2017 SEA Games. This note would include athletes’ performance, effect of referees or other non-technical aspects.
Head of the Indonesian contingent, Azis Syamsuddin, also apologized for Indonesia’s failure to grab 55 gold medals. Azis appreciated the hard work of all 534 athletes who have given their all for Indonesia.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has expressed his disappointment over Indonesia’s results in the 2017 SEA Games. He hopes that the results would be a source of evaluation for the 2018 Asian Games.
“To be honest, of course we are disappointed because we did not reach the initial target,” the Vice President said on Tuesday.
Vice President Kalla had predicted that Indonesia would finish in the top two of the 2017 SEA Games medals table.
(OKI/NTA/NDY/IND)
