F

orty-nine hang gliders from five countries will take part in the 2015 Telomoyo Cup international championships in Semarang, Central Java, from Sept. 27 to Oct. 4.

Fourteen out of 49 are coming from Japan, Australia, South Korea and Slovenia, while the remaining are host Indonesians. Slovenian hang gliding champion Primoz Gricar is also set to participate in the event, which takes place at Mount Telomoyo.

'€œMeanwhile, the 35 Indonesian pilots are from Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, North Sumatra and West Sumatra,'€ said the event'€™s spokesman, Tagor Siagian, on Friday.

Tagor claimed that this year'€™s event was much bigger than the previous, which gathered 25 pilots. He assured that the 2015 Telomoyo Cup would offer tougher challenges to each participant.

The championships will see possible clashes between last year'€™s runner-up, Roy Sadewo of Jakarta, the holder of a national record in cross-country flying for a distance of 92 kilometers since 1995 '€” which has yet to be broken, and defending champion Grant Heaney of Australia and 2014'€™s cup bronze medalist Junki Jung of South Korea.

Young and talented pilot Rory Duncan of Australia, currently world number 234 in cross-country flying, will also offer valuable sparring for aspiring Indonesian pilots.

Chief organizer Ersy Firman said that the event was held to promote aerosport tourism in the country.

'€œWe'€™re sure that those pilots coming from overseas will tell their friends about flying in Indonesia, especially in Central Java, as well as about our culture and heritage,'€ said Ersy.

He said that he hoped the event would attract more international hang gliders to experience flying in Indonesian skies.

Ersy, however, highlighted the poor road access to the take-off spot, which needs major improvement.

The Telomoyo Cup is registered in the events calendar of FAI, the world air sports federation.