Coaches and Athletes Worried

Uncertainties surrounding the shooting range for the 2018 Asian Para Games have unsettled coaches and national athletes. They are concerned they will not be able to adapt well during the competition.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Pentathlon athletes train for the Asian Games 2018 with coach Silvia Kristina Koeswandi (left) at the Education and Training Center in Ragunan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday  (17/4/2018). Six athletes, three men and three women, will compete in pentathlon, which consists of running, swimming, fencing, shooting and horse riding.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Uncertainties over the shooting range for the 2018 Asian Para Games has disadvantaged the national team. The condition could become worse if decisions on the arena are made too close to the Games.

Indonesia should be able to take advantage as the host of Asian Para Games, with athletes having sufficient time to train at and adapt to the new arena. Moreover, the majority of athletes are juniors who lack experience.

Asian Para Games shooting coach Saridi said on Tuesday (17/4/2018) in Jakarta that shooting athletes needed at least two to three weeks to adapt to conditions at the arena, particularly wind direction, lighting and its environment.

This period of acclimatization was urgent, because eight of the 11 Indonesian shooting athletes are juniors who have never taken part in multi-event events, and who needed better preparation, particularly in becoming familiar with the arena.

“If adaptation is not optimal, the junior athletes could become nervous during the competition,” said the coach, a first sergeant from Group II of the Special Forces Command.

Asian Para Games shooting athlete Bolo Triyanto said that athletes ideally needed one to two months to adapt to the new arena, which would raise their confidence and sense of ease during the competition.

“Adaption is important for all competitions. For the rifle and handgun disciplines, the athletes need to adapt to the wind conditions at the shooting range. For air soft gun, the athletes need to adapt to the lighting and the firing lines. Without knowing these from the beginning, the athletes will face obstacles during the competition,” he said.

Rejected proposal

Saridi proposed that the shooting range in Jakabaring, Palembang, South Sumatra, which was prepared for the 2018 Asian Games, also be used for the Para Games. However, the proposal was rejected because the presidential instruction has ordered that the Asian Para Games be held in Jakarta.

“The arena in Jakabaring is ready. We could just go and train there,” he said.

Public Works and Housing Ministry construction director general Sri Hartoyo had said earlier that the Jakabaring arena was better prepared. It only needed a minor renovation to provide wheelchair access. Nevertheless, the chairman of the Indonesian Asian Para Games Organizing Committee (INAPGOC), Raja Sapta Oktohari, turned down the proposal because the arena was located too far from the other Para Games venues, most of which were in Jakarta.

(DRI)