Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo made the statement at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday.
"We will send 415 athletes and 161 officials to the 2022 Asian Games. For APG (Asian Para Games), we will send 134 athletes and 62 officials," he informed.
Ariotedjo said that Indonesia aims to win 12 gold medals at the 2022 Asian Games and to rank in the top eight at the multi-sport event.
"Indeed, the target achievement in 2023 will be below the target achievement in the 2018 Asian Games. This is because Indonesia was the host of the 2018 Asian Games and pencak silat (a traditional Indonesian martial art) contributed to almost 50 percent of the medals (that Indonesia won)," he explained.
This year's Asian Games will not have a pencak silat competition, which is why the Indonesian contingent has set more reasonable targets.
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Ariotedjo further said that the determination of the number of athletes who will compete in the 2022 Asian Games was carried out in several steps.
From the initial selection, 600 athletes were chosen. After they were assessed by a review team and their potential to win 8 to 12 gold medals was considered, the final number of athletes was set at 415.
Chef de Mission (CdM) of the Indonesian contingent for the 2022 Asian Games, Basuki Hadimuljono, expressed optimism that the athletes will do their best to achieve the targets.
For the Asian Para Games Hangzhou 2022, Indonesia will send 134 athletes competing in 12 sports.
CdM of the Indonesian contingent for the 2022 Asian Para Games, Angela Tanoesoedibjo, said that her side is targeting to rank in the top 10 and bag 20 gold medals, 23 silver medals, and 25 bronze medals.
The 2022 Asian Games, originally scheduled for September 2022, were postponed to 2023 due to COVID-19.
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Translator: A Rauf, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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