"President Jokowi expressed gratitude to the athletes, coaches, and all members of the Indonesian contingent to the Paralympics. The president has also set a schedule to receive and meet the Indonesian contingent at the Presidential Palace upon completion of its quarantine," Amali stated while welcoming the arrival of the final batch of Indonesian Paralympic athletes at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Banten, on Tuesday morning.
Amali remarked that the achievements of Indonesian athletes at the Paralympics were no different from those at the Olympics, as athletes from both events are equally victorious and are the pride of the nation.
The minister encouraged the Indonesian public to support the Paralympic athletes with the same level of enthusiasm shown for the Olympic athletes earlier.
"Indonesian athletes at the Olympics and Paralympics are equal. The government is committed to equally lauding athletes representing the country in both events. We are optimistic that the Indonesian public would do the same thing," Amali stated.
Indonesia bagged two gold medals, three silver medals, and four bronze medals at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, being the country's best achievement ever since its Paralympics debut in 1976.
"We are proud that the achievements of our contingent are rising as compared to our accomplishments during the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. We were only placed in the 76th ranking in the 2016 Paralympics, but we are currently ranked 43rd," Minister Amali remarked.
The arrival of the last group of Indonesian Paralympic athletes' contingent was led by Indonesia's Paralympics' Chef de Mission Andi Herman and Chairperson of the National Paralympics Committee Senny Marbun.
The last arriving group comprised Indonesian athletes for para-badminton and para-athletics, with para-badminton gold medalist Leani Ratri Oktila, Khalimatus Sadiyah and Hary Susanto among the athletes that arrived on Tuesday morning.
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Translator: M Ramdan, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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