Indonesians have all the reasons to beam with joy, taking into account the results of the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang so far.
With athletes, representing their countries, reinforcing friendly yet heated competition with their opponents during the Asian Games as one of the biggest celebrations of international relations with the Asian Community.
When giving direction to Asian Para Games Committee (INAPGOC) in Jakarta on Friday, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) remarked that he really wanted to have a happy atmosphere for all Indonesians at the Asian Games to continue at the Asian Para Games in October.
The effort to maintain a happy atmosphere aims to make the Asian Para Games athletes more motivated and also feel happy while participating in the match.
The government has held limited meetings related to the 2018 Asian Para Games preparations, and President Jokowi has also given directions to the committee to make maximum efforts in welcoming state guests who will take part in the sporting event.
A total of 42 countries are planned to send their delegates to take part in the 2018 Asian Para Games event in Jakarta on October 6-13, 2018.
And as many as 2,888 athletes from those countries have been registered for the Asian Para Games, based on data received by the Organizing Committee (INAPGOC).
However, not all of the athletes will have to undergo classification because they have been established in the previous championships.
At the Asian Para Games, there are around 1.1 thousand athletes who must undergo classification.
Of these athletes, 300 are blind, including those from Indonesia, and so many classifiers are needed for the classification process.
INAPGOC Director for Classification, Christopher Muliadi Siagian, said in Solo, Central Java, recently, that the classification was to determine the events that the athletes would compete in. The classification process itself is carried out by teams that already have international certification, but there are not many in number.
The competition of the athletes at the Asian Para Games will take place faster because before competing officially, they must first undergo a tough classification.
Through classification, the steps of the athletes will be determined. It may happen that the results of the classification are not in line with their expectations; for example, they would have been trained in T46 class for athletics, but they may have to go down to class T47 after classifications, with some even failing to qualify.
INAPGOC brought 84 certified classifiers and people experienced in their respective fields for this classification, starting from Oct 2.
Although there are 18 sports contested, not all of them undergo classification, and one of them is wheelchair tennis. This happens because this sports branch uses a ranking system, considering that there are regular championships that are in accordance with applicable rules.
Indonesian athletes participating in Asian Para Games are ready, even though there are some athletes who have to undergo classification, but they are expected not to face obstacles.
In the Asian Para Games, the Youth and Sports Ministry has targeted Indonesia to finish in the top five.
Secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry Gatot S Dewa Broto remarked that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) only wanted Indonesia to secure a top seven spot, but he believe it will be able to finish in top five rather than top seven.
Indonesia ranked ninth in the Asian Para Games 2014 held in Incheon, South Korea.
"To be sure, we have our own estimate and strategy. This is part of our sport intelligence. Similar to the recently concluded Asian Games, we have our own calculations," he noted.
The calculation and strategy covered sports that the host contingent is expected to dominate, he added.
"There are several sports at the Asian Para Games 2018 that we would dominate. But it is a secret. We will reveal them two weeks before the event," he remarked.
The Asian Para Games is expected to bring together 2.8 thousand athletes and 1.8 thousand officials from 41 National Paralympic Committee (NPC) member countries.
They will compete in 18 sports, including basketball, volleyball, fencing, table tennis, swimming, shooting, judo, cycling, weightlifting, bowling, badminton, handball, and tennis.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani has called on the Indonesian nation to ensure the success of the Asian Para Games 2018.
The Asian Games has ended. Indonesia will soon host the Asian Para Games 2018, and the entire nation must make the Asian Para Games 2018 a success.
The Asian Para Games 2018 will be preceded by a torch relay in the same way as the Asian Games 2018, she added.
"Similar to the Asian Games, the Asian Para Games will also be preceded by a torch relay starting on Sept 5, 2018. But the Asian Para Games` torch will be relayed only in eight cities," Maharani explained.
In the meantime, INAPGOC has made a breakthrough by giving the people with disabilities freedom to watch the Asian Para Games international championship in Jakarta.
"We have actually a special policy to give discounts to the people with disabilities, but we will free them to watch the games, anyway," INAPGOC Chairman Raja Sapta Oktohari remarked during a media gathering on the 2018 Asian Para Games in Solo recently.
After learning a lot from what happened at the 2018 Asian Games, Oktohari said he did not want the ticket problem to occur during the four-year championship competition, specifically for disabled athletes.
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
