According to a press release received from the Youth and Sports Ministry, Rasjid visited the ministry's office in Jakarta on Friday and informed the minister about the association's preparations for the upcoming Olympics.
"We have taken two big steps by making improvements in the association's management as well as providing athletes with proper coaching to achieve maximum achievements," Rasjid told the minister.
He further said that Perpani has conducted comparative studies on other countries and mapped out Indonesia's archery strengths to formulate plans for future coaching and development programs.
"Furthermore, we are not merely training the athletes, but also the referees. It is clear that our current priority is to make optimal preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics," he added.
During the meeting, Rasjid also reminded the minister of three Indonesian female archers who won the first golden medal for the country in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
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According to Rasjid, the association is taking the achievement as its main reference for the upcoming Asian Games in September and the Paris Olympics next year.
Perpani has secured one ticket to the upcoming Olympics as a result of the hard work of its athlete Arif Dwi Pangestu, who managed to reach the semifinals in the men's curve category at the 2023 World Archery Championships held in Berlin, Germany, from July 31 to August 6.
Minister Aritoedjo, on his part, welcomed Perpani's preparatory measures and vowed to strengthen the collaboration between the government and the archery association for the sake of achieving optimal results at the 2024 Olympics.
"We are very glad and proud of Perpani's breakthroughs, considering archery is one of Indonesia's priority sports that are expected to clinch medals in the Paris Olympics," he said.
The minister further stated that his ministry has prepared a mental health center to support the development of young athletes and help national athletes improve their performance.
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Translator: Tegar Nurfitra Putra Rofian
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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