Milestone in Sustainable Regeneration

More than half of the Indonesian delegation to the Philippines 2019 South East Asian (SEA) Games comprises young athletes, due to increasing awareness of using the SEA Games as a training ground and stepping-stone for young athletes towards greater achievements.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Two BMX bike racers take part in a practice session at the BMX Pulomas circuit in Jakarta Saturday (16/11/2019). Three athletes will compete in the 2019 Sea Games men\'s elite class, namely, Gusti Bagus Saputra, Toni Syarifudin and Rio Akbar.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Indonesia national football team’s 2-0 victory over Thailand on Tuesday (26/11/2019) at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, the Philippines, marks a good start for Indonesian athletes as they aim for gold in the upcoming 2019 SEA Games. The regional multisport event runs from November 30 to December 11, with specific sports, like soccer and water polo, starting their tournaments on Tuesday.

National U-23 team’s victory was a good start after the nationwide disappointment over the national senior team’s five consecutive losses in the qualifying tournament for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Young Garuda’s performance has raised new hope for its mission to win gold in the SEA Games football tournament. The Indonesian team last won gold at the 1991 SEA Games, which was also held in the Philippines.

The paradigm shift in treating the SEA Games as a means of athlete regeneration and development often contradicts the mandate to fulfill the gold medal target.

The requirement for U-23 teams to have two senior players has provided a clear goal in training youth footballers. The Southeast Asian sporting event is being used as a medium to develop young athletes in the hope that they will gain higher achievements.

Indonesia’s success in placing fourth at the 2018 Asian Games has brought a new awareness of prioritizing reorganization in sports development toward Olympic gold, especially for government officials and sports stakeholders. Regional multisport events are therefore being viewed as a stepping-stone for preparing athletes to give their best at the most prestigious global sporting event.

The paradigm shift in treating the SEA Games as a means of athlete regeneration and development often contradicts the mandate to fulfill the gold medal target. Nevertheless, this has not dissuaded national sports associations from sending young athletes to the Philippines event.

ANTARA FOTO/SIGID KURNIAWAN

Indonesian U-22 national team players sing the national anthem, “Indonesia Raya”, before the match against Thailand\'s U-22 team in the elimination round of the 2019 SEA Games Group B stage at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Tuesday (26/11/2019).

In weightlifting, for instance, six of the 10 lifters sent to the Philippines are junior athletes under 19. The Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) has intensified its search for young athletes over the last three years, concerned that many of the current senior lifters will reach their peak in 2020.

“With that composition, we’ll have no more athletes, so there must be regeneration,” said PABSSI sports development head Alamsyah Wijaya.

Meanwhile, taekwondo is targeting two gold medals and has sent eight young taekwondoins. Six of the 16 archers sent to the SEA Games are still in their teens. Swimming is also relying on its young athletes, including 17-year-old Farrel Armandio Tangkas, who will compete in the 200-meter backstroke.

Athletics and badminton has combined its junior and senior athletes to achieve its gold target, while cycling is relying on its experienced athletes to win the BMX gold.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

The Indonesian mixed-doubles badminton players take part in a practice session at the PBSI Badminton training center in Cipayung, East Jakarta, Wednesday (20/11/2019) in preparation for the 2019 Sea Games in the Philippines.

Awareness

The awareness over sustaining sports achievements by sending young athletes to the SEA Games complies with the Youth and Sports Ministry, which instructed sports associations to send delegations composed of 60 percent junior athletes to the SEA Games.

“If not now, when will we focus on sustainable regeneration? If not at the 2019 SEA Games, when will young athletes get a chance to perform and become ready to replace their seniors?” said secretary Gatot S. Dewa Broto of the ministry. Participatihg in the SEA Games would enable young athletes to gain international experience and exposure, and thus be ready to continue the achievements of senior and elite athletes at the Asian Games and the Olympics.

Gatot said that this strategy might not be perfect, as there were still gold targets to fulfill. The public was also waiting for the nation’s achievements in sports, especially after Indonesia was ranked as the top Southeast Asian country at the 2018 Asian Games. Furthermore, different sports had different age classifications for junior and senior athletes. For instance, a 20-year-old would be considered a senior athlete in gymnastics but an athlete just beginning their career in other sports.

“We will review these details after seeing the results of this year’s SEA Games,” said Gatot. However, he would still push sports associations to continue with their regeneration plans to ensure the continuity of achievements, he said.

ANTARA FOTO/SIGID KURNIAWAN

A player of the Indonesian U-22 national team, Osvaldo Haay (right), is dribbling through Thailand\'s U-22 national team players in the elimination round of the 2019 SEA Games Group B stage at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, Philippines, Tuesday (26/11/2019). Indonesia defeated Thailand with a score of 2-0.

Harry Warganegara, the head of the Indonesian delegation to the 2019 SEA Games, said that the high composition of young athletes, which comprised half of all athletes sent to the Philippines, had refreshed the spirit of the Indonesian contingent. All athletes were juniors in several sports, including floorball (indoor hockey), sailing and fencing.

With this composition, said Harry, the SEA Games would be an amicable sporting event between Southeast Asian countries. “The SEA Games is not our main goal, but a stepping-stone towards the Asian Games and the Olympics,” he said.

Nevertheless, Indonesia still had a target to move up in the medal tally from fifth to fourth place. Indonesia is sending 841 athletes and 415 officials to the 2019 SEA Games, where they will compete in 424 events in 52 sports and are targeting at least 45 gold medals. (DRI/DNA/PDS/IYA/JON/DEN)