SOLO, KOMPAS – Indonesia’s failure at the SEA Games 2017 in Kuala Lumpur has sparked concern about the country’s performance at the ASEAN Para Games 2017 in the same city, which are set to begin on September 17. That concern stems mainly from problems besetting the ASEAN Para Games national training camp in Solo, Central Java.
“We are worried that the achievement at the ASEAN Para Games will be just as bad as that at the SEA Games, because the requirements for equipment and other needs have not been met,” said Indonesian National Paralympics Committee chairman Senny Marbun.
According to Senny, the problems affecting the SEA Games athletes are also being experienced by athletes in the ASEAN Para Games national training camp. Pocket money for athletes has not been paid out, and training and match equipment has not been provided. This is despite the fact that the multi-sport event for Southeast Asia’s athletes with disabilities will be held in two weeks’ time, from September 17-23. “Talking about national training preparation, the current one is the worst,” he said.
Middle-distance runner Timin said that, as of Monday (4/9), he had not received any pocket money since April. “I have only received pocket money for two months, February and March. I have not received money from April to August,” he said after training at the Sebelas Maret University stadium in Solo on Monday.
Timin does not know why his pocket money has not yet been given to him, nor does he know when he will receive it. In the ASEAN Para Games 2017, Timin, a men’s 1,500-meter running gold medalist at the ASEAN Para Games 2015 in Singapore, will compete in the 400 meters, 800 meters and 1,500 meters categories. “Hopefully we can still achieve the gold medal target,” he said.
Fellow athlete Riyadi Saputra has also yet to receive the monthly pocket money of Rp 7.52 million per month for July and August.
Buying own shoes
It is not just the money, the athletes have also yet to receive training and match equipment. They ended up buying their own equipment. Timin, for example, bought his own running shoes, which cost him Rp 2 million.
Martin Losu, a 100-meter and 200-meter sprinter, said that in order to train regularly, a sprinter needs two or three pairs of running shoes. However, he had not been given any training or game shoes and eventually decided to buy some himself in Solo.
The cerebral palsy (CP) or 7-a-side football team coach, Fadilah Umar, also concurred, saying the government had not provided training equipment, such as shoes, for the athletes. Athletes, he said, needed at least two pairs of shoes throughout the national training camp period, as well as another pair for the competition. Luckily, NPC Indonesia has provided each player with one pair of shoes.
To overcome the problem, Fadilah said, the players spared some of their pocket money to buy a team kit and buy their own shoes.
Indonesia will send 196 disabled athletes to take part in the ASEAN Para Games 2017. The Red-and-White contingent has been set a target of 90 gold medals to finish second, like they did in the ASEAN Para Games 2015 in Singapore.
Indonesia’s contingent head for the ASEAN Para Games 2017, Bayu Rahadian, said the Indonesian contingent would leave for Kuala Lumpur on September 13. The 196 athletes will be accompanied by 100 coaches and officials.
“We have prepared the departure, including the disbursement of Rp 10 billion from the state budget to fund the Indonesian contingent in Malaysia. We are also resolving the matter of the distribution of match equipment, with assistance from the Youth and Sports Ministry. The distribution of match equipment will be 100 percent completed by the end of this week,” Bayu said on Monday in Jakarta.