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outh and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi says sports '€œspies'€ are required to help the country'€™s athletes in international tournaments.

'€œOur weaknesses are that we rarely spy other on countries'€™ sports. We don'€™t have sports intelligence assigned to this task,'€ he said during his visit to the Jatidiri Sport Complex in Semarang, Central Java, on Friday.

At the most recent SEA Games in Myanmar, Indonesia lagged in the medal chase, finishing in fourth place among 11 Southeast Asian nations. The next SEA Games will be in Singapore in June.

Imam said they would need to know not only other countries'€™ strengths in certain sports, but also their tactics in terms of whether they deployed first or second-layer athletes, considering that the 2016 Olympics in Brazil would be the next challenge.

'€œFor the SEA Games in Singapore, our target is to be overall champion, not runner up. A special team has prepared several policies to meet the target. We must motivate our athletes and see [their strengths],'€ he said.

Indonesia will place its medal hopes largely on badminton, archery, weightlifting and athletics.

After the 2015 SEA Games and the 2016 Olympics, Indonesia must prepare for the 18th Asian Games, which it will host in 2018.

After emerging as the overall champion at home in 2011, Indonesia looked to retain the championship in Myanmar 2013 before it toned down its target of being in the top three. The target was missed, with Indonesia only bringing home 65 gold medals, far below the expected 120.

At the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Indonesia had expected to break into top 10 in the standings but ended up in 17th position with four gold, five silver and 11 bronze medals.

Unfortunately, Indonesia'€™s drive to do better at the international level seems to be losing stream.

The athletes'€™ dormitory at the Jatidiri Sports Complex looked dirty and bleak during the minister'€™s visit. The minister promised to upgrade the facilities.

Sukahar, chief deputy of the Central Java Sports Council, applauded the government'€™s move.

'€œIf the facilities improve, athletes can perform better. We hope to contribute more athletes for the country,'€ he said.