Prof. James Tangkudung of Jakarta State University (UNJ) in Jakarta on Monday stated that it is important to boost the spirit of athletes by increasing the bonus they should receive if they win medals.
On that occasion, Tangkudung, who is also a former committee official of the National Sports Committee of Indonesia (KONI), has encouraged the government to give bonuses of at least Rp2 billion for each winning athlete of the Asian Games.
"In fact, I think the government can still give gifts of up to Rp2.5 billion," he noted.
According to Tangkudung, bonus can be the motivator for athlete to make achievements, apart from pride and nationalism.
"The bonus is part of the basic needs. I think, with the trillions of rupiah funds for the Asian Games, the government will not feel the weight to set aside funds of around Rp60 billion for gold winners and coaches," he remarked.
The Professor of sports psychometry has also encouraged the public to participate in fundraising for the Asian Games winning athletes.
Therefore, he revealed that Indonesia should not only be able to enter the top-10 position of the Asian Games in Jakarta but also secure the sixth place, which was taken by Thailand in the 2014 Asian Games, he explained.
According to Tangkudung, the trust placed on Indonesia to host the Asian Games 2018 should be made a momentum for awakening the Indonesian sports achievements.
"The rise in sports achievement will be significant if Indonesia, as a major country and once a Southeast Asian sporting giant, would be capable of displacing Thailand`s dominance in the 2018 Asian Games," he elaborated.
The target of displacing Thailand at the 2018 Asian Games should serve as the motivation for all sport stakeholders in the country to raise the Indonesian sports achievements.
"I am optimistic that it can be realized if Indonesia is intensively preparing for it from now on. I am sure we can go through from the 6th to the 9th position at the 2018 Asian Games," he pointed out.
(A014/INE)
(T.A014/A/KR-BSR/F001)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
