"Praise to God (Alhamdulillah), we pray to Allah because, at the 16th Popnas, DKI Jakarta wins as the general championship," Head of the DKI Jakarta Youth and Sports Office (Dispora), Andri Yansyah, said in Jakarta on Monday.
With that success, DKI Jakarta managed to end its "fasting" of the overall champion title over the past few years, he added.
In addition to the gold medal, DKI Jakarta also won 49 silver and 47 bronze medals.
According to Yansyah, this achievement was made thanks to the full support of the DKI Jakarta provincial government (Pemprov), the Jakarta Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD), as well as the enthusiasm and motivation of managers, coaches, assistant coaches, and all athletes in providing the best achievements.
He hoped that the achievement would motivate DKI Jakarta athletes to improve and not only participate in national competitions, but also international competitions.
"It is the hope of all of us and the aspirations of the athletes that they can represent Indonesia in international level competitions and reap the best achievements," he said.
According to Yansyah, the general championship title at Popnas XVI needs to be maintained at future implementations of the competition, such as Popnas XVII, which will take place in Aceh and North Sumatra next year.
Chairperson of the DKI Jakarta Contingent at Popnas XVI, Rahman Defiandi, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to all parties who were directly or indirectly involved in DKI Jakarta’s success at Popnas.
"Thank you to the head of the DKI Jakarta Youth and Sports Office, Mr. Andri Yansyah, who tirelessly provided advice, conveyed criticism for the common good and the achievement," Defiandi said.
Defiandi apologized for any services for the athletes and officials that were found lacking.
West Java came second with 50 gold, 37 silver, and 53 bronze medals. Meanwhile, East Java province occupied the third position with 49 gold, 45 silver, and 49 bronze medals.
Popnas XVI was officially declared as ended by the regional secretary of South Sumatra province, S.A. Supriono, who represented the Governor of South Sumatra, Herman Deru.
During the closing ceremony, Yansyah performed two songs to entertain the athletes who competed in Popnas XVI.
Popnas or the National Student Sports Week is the culmination of student sports coaching in Indonesia. This year, 22 sports and 1,443 medals were contested at the national sports event. Earlier, Bangka Belitung was designated the host of Popnas XVI, but it pulled out of hosting the competition.
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Translator: Siti N, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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