"Apart from the implementation, we also hope to be able to deliver a good achievement," he remarked at an event to promote the Asian Games 2018 at the Bogor State Palace here on Saturday.
"We wish to be among the 10 biggest, while we were ranked 17th before. Recently, I whispered to them that I actually wished we could rank eighth," he remarked.
He said Indonesia is a big country, so its achievement in the big event must also be good.
"We are a big nation, so we must not be left out of the 10 biggest. How would we able to save face (if we were)," he added.
On the occasion, he called on all quarters to promote the implementation of the 18th Asian Games.
"It is 14 days away. A total of 16 thousand athletes and officials from 45 countries will come," he stated.
He said the Asian Games is a large-scale event, so it must be promoted to ensure it would not be inferior as compared with the earlier one.
To motivate the athletes, the Indonesian government has pledged some US$100 thousand, or Rp1.5 billion, for each gold medalist.
"This bonus will be the highest in the history of the Asian Games," Indonesian Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi revealed.
The four-yearly biggest Asian sporting event will be attended by athletes from 45 countries, who will compete in 463 disciplines from 40 sports branches.
The Indonesian National Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) has estimated that some five million spectators from around the world will watch the international sporting event of the Asian Games from August 18 to September 2, 2018.
"We are targeting five billion pairs of eyes from around the world that will watch the Asian Games," Dani, the media and PR director of INASGOC, noted at a Media Personnel Technical Coordination meeting in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, on Friday.
According to Dani, the number of indirect viewers, or those not present at the venues of the matches, will be far more when compared to the live audience, or those at the location.
"Certainly, the number of indirect viewers, for instance, through streaming, will be more than the number of direct audience. We are responsible for broadcasting the broadest possible number of Asian Games matches," Dani noted.
Reported by Agus Salim
Edited by Yoseph Haryadi
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
