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span class="inline inline-left">Feel the burn: Vietnamese weightlifters train at the ASEAN Para Games athletes’ dormitory in Donohudan, Surakarta, Central Java, on Tuesday. Vietnam has sent 170 athletes and officials to the Games, the third-largest contingent after Thailand (285 athletes and officials) and Indonesia (368 athletes and officials). Antara/Andika Betha An Indonesian gold medal hopeful at the 6th ASEAN Para Games, chess player Amrullah, failed to qualify for the competition on Tuesday because a disability concerning his left arm was deemed treatable.

“Thankfully, we managed to fill Amrullah’s spot with Matsuro, the host chess team manager,” the
secretary-general of National Paralympic Committee, Pribadi, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Amrullah’s disqualification may impact on the country’s overall target of seven gold medals from the 14 golds up for grabs in the chess competition, as he was targeted to win two golds for both the men’s team and the rapid chess event.

The Indonesian chess team at the Games, which will begin on Thursday in Surakarta, Central Java, consists of 12 men and women.

Pribadi assured that Amrullah was the host’s only disqualified athlete among the whole 1,200 competitors from 11 countries.

In the track and field sector, athlete Romli, who won three gold medals at the 2009 ASEAN Para Games, had to move to a higher classification to remain in the competition. Romli, who won the 2009 golds in discus, javelin and shot put events, will compete in the F38 class instead of the F37 class, in which he was registered previously.

“He has a greater chance to emulate his golden performance because the F38 class is for athletes with leg amputations of over 10 centimeters,” said track and field team manager Slamet Widodo. Indonesia’s 65 track and field athletes are targeted to win 37 golds from 173 on offer.

The host nation will deploy an overall 250 athletes to compete in the Games, between Dec. 15-22, which will feature the 11 sports of: track and field, volleyball, swimming, tennis, bowling, table tennis, badminton, goal ball, archery, chess and weight lifting.

Targeting 140 gold medals, Indonesia is hoping to become overall champion. Two years ago at the 5th ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia finished fourth with 29 gold medals, while Thailand brought home 157 gold medals as overall champions, followed by Malaysia with 94 golds and third was Vietnam with 73 golds.

Despite the ambitious target, the government promises a mere Rp 30 million bonus for gold medalists at the Games, a much smaller sum compared to the Rp 200 million bonus per gold medal provided for victors at the recent 26th SEA Games in Jakarta and Palembang.

“I cried when I heard the large gap in bonuses for ASEAN Para Games medalists and SEA Games medalists,” said one of the Indonesian Para Games athletes, as quoted by kompas.com on Monday. The individual also requested anonymity. “Why is the difference so much? Is it because I’m disabled?”

Vice President Boediono is scheduled to officially open the biennial ASEAN Para Games on Thursday.