I wish to extend my congratulations, gratitude, and appreciation to those who have made extraordinary achievements."Bogor, West Java (ANTARA News) - On Tuesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a get-together at the Bogor Presidential Palace with the Indonesian contingent that participated in the just-concluded ASEAN Para Games 2014, where Indonesia emerged the overall champion.
"On behalf of the state, government, and myself, I wish to extend my congratulations, gratitude, and appreciation to those who have made extraordinary achievements," the President stated.
First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono, Coordinating Minister for Peoples Welfare Agung Laksono, and Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo were also present at the function.
This is the first time that Indonesia has emerged as an overall champion of the ASEAN Para Games, since its foremost participation in the bi-annual, multi-sport event in 2001, Roy Suryo exclaimed.
The Indonesian contingent bagged medals mainly in swimming, table tennis, chess, and weightlifting.
Roy Suryo further added that Indonesia participated in eight of the 13 sports events contested in the games.
Indonesia sent 150 athletes and 25 officials to the games.
"This is the fifth-smallest contingent among the participating countries in the games," he noted.
The ASEAN Para Games is a bi-annual, multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games for physically challenged ASEAN athletes. Eleven countries in the Southeast Asian region participated in the games.
The Para Games, modeled after the Paralympic Games, are organized for physically challenged athletes with mobility and visual disabilities, amputees, and those with cerebral palsy.
Indonesia emerged the overall champion of the 7th ASEAN Para Games in Myanmars Nay Pyi Taw, on January 19, after topping the total medals tally with 217 medals, constituting 99 gold, 69 silver, and 49 bronze medals.
According to the official website of the ASEAN Para Games VII, Indonesia overtook the defending champion, Thailand, which finished second with a total medals tally of 248, comprising 96 gold, 82 silver, and 70 bronze medals.
Malaysia followed third with a total medals tally of 140 comprising 50 gold, 49 silver, and 41 bronze medals, while Vietnam finished fourth with 48 gold, 65 silver, and 72 bronze medals and an overall medals tally of 185.
Host Myanmar finished fifth, with 34 gold, 26 silver, and 36 bronze medals that added to a total of 96 medals, while the Philippines came sixth, with a total medals tally of 60, constituting 20 gold, 19 silver, and 21 bronze medals.
Singapore won 27 medals, including seven gold, 10 silver, and 10 bronze medals and finished seventh, while Cambodia came eighth with a total medals tally of nine, comprising three gold, four silver, and two bronze medals.
Brunei, which bagged two gold, three silver, and seven bronze medals, was in the ninth place, and Laos, which won three silver and three bronze medals, finished in the tenth place.
(Reporting by Muhammad Arief Iskandar/edited by INE/KR-BSR/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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