"First of all, I would like to thank the people of Indonesia. I would like to thank President Jokowi, I would like to thank Mr. Gibran (Mayor of Solo) for his hard work," Secretary General of APSF, Senior Colonel Wandee Tosuwan, stated at the Soekarno Hatta Airport here on Friday.
In February, Indonesia was officially appointed as host of the ASEAN Para Games, replacing Vietnam. Since then, Tosuwan said she has been working with the government to realize the sports event that was last held in Malaysia in 2017.
Tosuwan also lauded the efforts of the Indonesian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Chairman, Senny Marbun, in striving for the ASEAN Para Games to be held after being canceled in 2019 in the Philippines and was about to be cancelled again in 2022.
"The Philippines has a problem about the pandemic and Vietnam also have a problem about the pandemic and the budget but, they support Indonesia, even your time is only five months," Tosuwan stated.
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Tosuwan, who visited Solo thrice, admitted to being concerned about the swimming arena, though her concerns were put to rest by the organizers' preparedness in dealing with it.
"For that, we believe they have worked very quickly, and now, we can see the venue's readiness," she remarked.
The 2022 ASEAN Para Games XI in Solo will be attended by athletes from 11 Southeast Asian countries comprising Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, and the host Indonesia.
The athletes will compete in 14 sports branches, comprising athletics, boccia, archery, judo, powerlifting, swimming, table tennis, court tennis, chess, goalball, badminton, Cerebral Palsy (CP) football, basketball, and sitting volleyball.
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Translator: Arindra M, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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