The Indonesian Olympic contingent is set to fly to Brazil early on Thursday morning to prepare for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, which will run from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21.

Rushing into a room where the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) held a humble farewell party in Jakarta on Wednesday, long-jump athlete Maria Natalia Londa looked all packed up and ready to go — not forgetting to carry a comfortable traveling pillow for her neck.

Maria, who came in with fellow track-and-field athlete Sudirman Hadi, was invited to join Indonesia’s chef de mission Raja Sapta Oktohari and other officials for photographs before the press.

Maria, who has been appointed as a flag bearer for the Indonesian contingent during the opening ceremony in Rio, could not hide her pride and happiness in qualifying for the prestigious event and for being chosen to wave the Red-and-White as Indonesia parades before the world.

“I’m definitely proud and happy to be able to go to the Olympics. I’ve been competing in the sport for 15 years and going to Rio is a dream coming true,” said Maria.

“And furthermore, receiving the duty to carry the flag during the opening ceremony is a tremendous honor,” added the 25-year-old.

Maria qualified to compete against the world’s best in the Olympics after winning a gold medal in the women’s long jump at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Singapore. She jumped as far as 6.7 meters.

The SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving 11 Southeast Asian countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

A year earlier, Maria also won a gold medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, after jumping 6.55 meters.

In Rio, Maria’s personal goal is to be safe and realistic.

“I simply want to beat my own personal best,” said the gold medalist in long jump and triple jump at the 2013 Myanmar SEA Games. “I will not burden myself with high expectations.”

To stay focused on her personal goal, Maria will maintain her fitness and diet throughout the long-haul flight to Rio.

“I’ll keep my diet on track. I will restrain myself from eating unnecessarily, though it is going to be a day-long flight,” said Maria, who has been on a diet for a year.

Other than that, Maria will only need to maintain a winning mentality.

“I just need to stay relaxed. I do not need to be distracted by bad jet lag as soon as I land,” she added.

Chef de mission Raja said the last members of the Indonesian contingent would fly to Brazil on Aug. 3.

“The Aug. 3 group will mainly consist of swimmers,” he said, adding that the weightlifting team was already in Cape Town, South Africa, and the rowing team in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, preparing for the event.

Indonesia will send 28 athletes to Brazil -- three of them wild card entrants -- to compete in the Olympics. Badminton is the largest team, with 10 athletes. Meanwhile, BMX athlete Toni Syarifudin will be the only Indonesian representing the sport of cycling.

All of the 28 athletes will be supported by 14 coaches and five managers, plus 12 technical officials that include the chef de mission and his assistants, Indonesia’s Satlak Prima elite program officer, two officers from the KOI, two masseurs, two medical doctors and two officers to handle accreditation and daily passes.

The Indonesian contingent will receive Rp 35 billion (US$ 2.66 million) from the state budget for the trip to Rio.

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