Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's contingent is aiming to secure five medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Chef de Mission (CdM) of the Indonesia team Andi Herman said.

The calculation is based on an evaluation of each athlete's prospects in each sports branch, he added.

During the virtual send-off event for the Indonesian contingent for the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday, Herman said the Indonesian team is targeting to secure one gold, one silver, and three bronze medals as well as finish in the top 60 of the medal standings.

There are four sports branches in which the contingent can win a medal, he added.

Parabadminton is the main focus, with the team hoping to earn one gold and one silver medal each, Herman informed.

He also said that Indonesia has a shot at getting the bronze in powerlifting and table tennis adding, he was optimistic the contingent can reach its goal.

"Other than that, (the event will serve to) increase athletes' experience and also to assess their opponents for evaluation material and athletes' guidance strategy for the next Paralympics," he remarked.

To reach the medal target, the National Paralympics Committee (NPC) Indonesia made thorough preparations, despite the challenges it faced implementing them amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Herman said.

For instance, national training was held in Solo, Central Java from October 2020 until August 2021, he added.

NPC Indonesia also sent the athletes to participate in international events to boost their performance and to collect points, he pointed out.

"We have also conducted tryouts abroad to increase athletes' experience," Herman remarked.

On account of the preparations, it is hoped the Indonesian contingent can achieve the projected target, he said.

"(We are aiming at) Not just fixing our ranking, but also to gather even more medals than the previous Paralympics (result) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016," he asserted.

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Translator: M Ramdan, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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