If there are a lot of athletes in the contingent, then of course there is a lot of potential (to win the medals).Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) Chairperson Raja Sapta Oktohari said he was satisfied with the achievements of athletes participating in team sport events at the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Indonesian men's soccer, men's volleyball, men's indoor hockey, women's basketball, and women's cricket teams had managed to clinch gold medals at the Games.
“It shows that Indonesia is not only focused on (developing) individual sports but also on (improving) group sports,” the KOI chairperson affirmed after attending the welcome ceremony for the athletes at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang City, Banten Province, on Wednesday evening.
He said that the achievements are a huge encouragement for Indonesian athletes to compete at a higher level, such as the 19th Asian Games that will be held in Hangzhou, China, in September 2023, and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Oktohari said that Indonesia needs to partake in more team sport events, so the country can send a bigger contingent.
"If there are a lot of athletes in the contingent, then of course, there is a lot of potential (to win the medals),” he stated.
He said that although Indonesian athletes’ achievements in the 32nd SEA Games cannot be the main point of reference, he is confident that they can deliver good results in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Indonesia ranked third in the final medal standings of the 32nd SEA Games, after Vietnam and Thailand, with 87 gold medals, 80 silver medals, and 109 bronze medals.
The government had determined that medal targets in the SEA Games were intermediate target achievements to prepare the athletes for the Olympics, which has become the main target achievement.
Considering that Indonesia’s several prominent sports, such as archery, bowling, shooting, and rowing, were not contested at the Games, the KOI chairperson remarked that the achievements of the contingent were extraordinary.
He noted that by competing in the SEA Games, the effectiveness of the coaching programs of the athletes could be assessed well.
"We had become the overall champions of many sports out of the 31 sports that we partook in (the 32nd SEA Games)," he added.
The multi-sport event was held in Cambodia. It was inaugurated on May 5, 2023, and closed on May 17, 2023.
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Translator: Rauf Adipati, Uyu Liman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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