Jakarta, March 27 (Antara) - The 18th Asian Games, to be held in Jakarta and Palembang in August 2018, is a mega sporting event in which some 45 countries will compete to showcase their superiority in sports.
Indonesia is poised to stand in the top 10, but a professor of sports said he would like to see Indonesia to secure the sixth ranking.
Indonesia should be able to finish in the sixth place in line with its target to emerge as one of the top 10 winners in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta this year.
Prof. James Tangkudung of the Jakarta State University stated in Jakarta on Monday that the trust placed on Indonesia to host the Asian Games 2018 should serve as a momentum to boost the nation's achievements in sports.
"The improved achievement in sports will be significant if Indonesia, as a major country and once a Southeast Asian sporting giant, is capable of beating Thailand in the 2018 Asian Games," he remarked.
The target of beating Thailand, which finished in sixth place in the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea, should serve as a motivation for all sports stakeholders in the country to improve achievements in sports at this year's 18th Asian Games.
"I am optimistic that it would be realized if Indonesia intensively prepares its athletes from now. I am certain we can finish anywhere between the 6th and 9th position at the 2018 Asian Games," he noted.
At the Asian Games held four years ago in Incheon, South Korea, Thailand was ranked sixth, bagging a total of 47 medals comprising 12 gold, 7 silver, and 28 bronze medals, while Indonesia was ranked 17th, with four gold, 5 silver, and 11 bronze medals.
Based on that data, Indonesia has the potential enter the top six, with only 12 gold, Tangkudung pointed out, adding that he saw an opportunity for Indonesia to win more than 12 gold medals.
Tangkudung, who is a former deputy minister of youth and sports, stated that during the preparation, all coaches should focus on sports in which the country has potential to win gold, while in other branches that potentially contribute silver medals, coaches should improve preparations, so that the branches can present not silver but gold.
"Now, we should have entered the pre-competition events. The athletes are timed to be tested abroad. This should not be delayed again, as we are racing against time in the coming four months," he said.
In the coming major Asian sporting event to be held on August 18, 2018, Indonesia has the potential to win two gold medals respectively, in badminton, pencak silat, and wushu, while Indonesia is forecast to win gold each in weightlifting, archery, jet skiing, and rock climbing,.
The next two to three gold medals are expected to be won in the branches of rowing and cycling, which could be one to two gold medals per branch, according to Tangkudung, who is a lecturer on the subject of psychometrics in sports.
Based on data on Indonesian athletes, achievements in Asia, and data about the mapping of the Asian Games, Indonesia is highly likely to win 12 gold medals.
On the occasion, Tangkudung, who is also a former committee official of the National Sports Committee of Indonesia, also stressed the importance of boosting the spirit of athletes by increasing the bonus they should receive.
He has encouraged the government to offer bonuses of at least Rp2 billion to each Indonesian athlete winning in the Asian Games.
"In fact, I think the government can still give gifts of up to Rp2.5 billion," he noted.
Bonus will serve as a motivator for athletes to deliver achievements apart from pride and nationalism.
The bonus is part of the basic needs, with trillions of rupiah of funds for the Asian Games, so the government will not feel the burden to set aside funds worth Rp60 billion for gold winners and coaches. The professor also encouraged the public to participate in fundraising for the athletes winning in the Asian Games.
Indonesia, host of the 18th Asian Games 2018, is targeting to become one of the top ten in the Asian mega sporting event. "We have to stick to our target. We want to secure a place in the top ten of the Asian Games. We have to make sure of it and accelerate the exercises. Athletes should be sent abroad (for tryouts)," Jusuf Kalla, the chairman of the 18th Asian Games 2018 Steering Committee, who is also the Indonesian Vice President, said last in October last year.
The organizers do not want to make inadequate preparations, which could result in low achievement, such as the achievement of Indonesian athletes in the SEA Games last August. After all, the 18th Asian Games 2018 will serve as a bridge for Indonesian athletes to step forward for the Olympic Games in Japan in 2020.
"No one can guarantee that we can achieve the target, but to achieve it, we should ascertain that our achievement will be better than the one in the previous 17th Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, South Korea," Kalla said.
Indonesia was ranked 17th on the medals tally in the 17th Asian Games 2014 among 37 participating countries in Incheon with four gold medals, five silver and 11 bronze medals. China, which has been the overall champion for nine times in a row since the 9th Asian Games in 1982, was on the top of the list with 151 gold, 108 silver and 83 bronze medals.
It will be the second time that Indonesia is hosting the Asian Games this year. Indonesia hosted the Asian sporting events for the first time in 1962, the fourth one after the Asian Games were first organized in New Delhi, India, in 1951.
During the 4th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia as the host, was the runner-up with 21 gold, 26 silver and 30 bronze medals, behind Japan who was the overall champion with 73 gold, 65 silver and 23 bronze medals.
The 18th Asian Games 2018, to be attended by 45 countries, will feature 462 events of 40 sports of which 32 are Olympic sports and eight are non-Olympic sports.
The Olympic sports are Aquatics, Athletics, Fencing, Weightlifting, Basketball, Handball, Badminton, Baseball/Softball, Cycling, Equestrian, Golf, Wrestling, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Canoeing and Kayaking, Sailing, Shooting, Modern Pentathlon, Archery, Sport climbing, Rowing, Rugby, Gymnastics, Skateboarding, Football, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Boxing, Triathlon, and Volleyball.
The non-Olympic sports are Bowling; Bridge; Cricket; Kabaddi; Martial Arts, such as Jujitsu, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Sambo, and Wushu; Mechanical Sports, such as Paragliding and Jet skiing; Squash; and Sepak Takraw.***4*** (A014/INE/o001)
EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 27-03-2018 13:29: |
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