These students will compete for 448 medals comprising 138 gold, 138 silver, and 172 bronze medals at the sports event held on September 16-22, 2018.
Participants of the O2SN are from elementary schools, Islamic elementary schools, Junior high schools, Islamic junior high schools, senior high schools, and Islamic senior high schools hailing from 34 provinces across the country.
The minister, in his speech, encouraged the students to deliver their best performance in the O2SN.
On the occasion, Muhadjir also touched on the success of Indonesian athletes in the recent 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.
"We should be grateful and proud over our success as a host of the Asian Games," he remarked, hoping that the national athletes, who had delivered achievements at the recent Asian Games, would be able to motivate the O2SN participants to also emulate their performance.
At the 2018 Asian Games, held in Jakarta and Palembang from Aug 18 to Sept 2, Indonesia ranked fourth, with 32 gold medals, as compared to the 2014 Asian Games, during which it only stood 17th, with four gold medals.
"This is an extraordinary achievement," he noted.
"Some of those who contributed medals, including gold, (at the last Asian Games) were alumni of O2SN," he remarked.
The O2SN is a sports olympiad held annually by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
This year`s O2SN is the 11th edition since it was held in 2008. The O2SN is organized to provide a forum for students and to hone their skills and score their best in sports.
Participants will compete in athletics, swimming, badminton, pencak silat, karate, gymnastics, chess, bocce, and wheelchair racing at the O2SN 2018.
Reporting by Anita Permata Dewi
Editing by Bustanuddin
Reporter: Anita Permata Dewi
Editor: Bustanuddin
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
