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Indonesia to join Asian Winter Games for the first time next year
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Against all odds: Erick Thohir (third right), chief of the Indonesian Sports Committee (KOI), talks with members of the Indonesian national team for the 2017 Asian Winter Games in a media gathering in Banten on Sept. 29. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
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ndonesian sports is making history by participating in the upcoming Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, for the first time, an official said on Thursday.
Indonesia will send athletes, not only committee members, to participate in the competition, which will be held in February next year, Indonesia Olympic Committee chairman Erick Thohir said on Thursday adding that it is in line with the Olympic Charter.
In Sapporo, Indonesian athletes will partake in ice hockey, figure skating and short track speed skating.
“The Winter Games are a perfect platform for Indonesian sports to get acknowledged by the world, although we’re a tropical country,” said Erick as reported by Antara news agency.
He also appreciated the strong will from team members to join the Games as they independently raised the necessary funds.
Meanwhile, Indonesian ice hockey team captain Jonathan Sudharta said Indonesian winter sports athletes had set their sights on raising the Indonesian flag at the international ice hockey championship, although no medal target had been set yet.
Besides the Winter Games, the skating teams also plan to play in the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. (rin)
