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Sports ministry reveals medal hopes for RI at SEA Games

The State Ministry for Sports and Youth Affairs says it is optimistic the country will attain a top-three finish by winning a total of 54 gold medals at the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos

Agnes Winarti (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, June 4, 2009

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Sports ministry reveals medal hopes for RI at SEA Games

The State Ministry for Sports and Youth Affairs says it is optimistic the country will attain a top-three finish by winning a total of 54 gold medals at the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos.

"Getting a the top-three finish is a tough job, but I believe we can do it," minister Adhyaksa Dault said Wednesday at a meeting to assess Indonesia's medal prospects.

The assessment only included the ministry-initiated Top-Tier Athletes Program (TAP), is currently training 241 athletes from 16 sports. The rival PAL camp run by the National Sports Council (KONI) has 127 athletes from 14 sports.

Wednesday's meeting also unveiled the projected number of silver and bronze medals, set at 38 and 3. Most of the gold medals are expected to come from track and field (10), cycling (6), pencak silat (5) and badminton (5).

The TAP's 16 sports include track and field, swimming, weight lifting, cycling, archery, billiards, shooting, boxing, wrestling, judo, taekwondo, pencak silat, wushu, tennis, table tennis, and badminton.

Swimming and volleyball (indoor and beach) will also form part of the program.

"The athletes are highly enthusiastic and motivated to perform better this year, and want to be reigning champions in 2011 when we host the SEA Games," said PAL program head Ahmad Sutjipto.

He lamented that several sports in which Indonesia would have excelled would not feature in Laos. These are kayaking, rowing, dragon boating, fencing and bowling.

Ahmad added the backbone of the Indonesian squad would be its veteran athletes, who contributed medals at the last SEA Games in Thailand in 2007.

"Sixty percent of the squad are veterans," he said.

Indonesia, which finished fourth at the 2007 games, will compete in 22 of 26 sports in Laos in December.

KONI chairwoman Rita Subowo declined to comment on the ministry's predictions.

"The ministry handles some of the athletes, so they're entitled to their own predictions," she told The Jakarta Post.

"I don't mind. We'll need to sit down together and discuss it later."

The athletes under KONI's supervision come from volleyball (indoor and beach), badminton, billiards, snooker, swimming, boxing, pencak silat, wushu, wrestling, judo, karate, sepak takraw, taekwondo, track and field, and soccer.

Rita said KONI had never discussed medal prospects with the ministry.

Adhyaksa said the PAL would continue running after a presidential regulation on it was signed.

"We hope to get the regulation approved before the new minister is inaugurated in October," he said.

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