he Indonesian national soccer team will be sent to compete at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next year in Malaysia thanks to their performance in reaching the finals of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2016, an official has said.
"Given the [positive] results in their AFF Cup matches the squad will be competing at the SEA Games," the deputy to the Youth and Sports Affairs Minister, Gatot S. Dewa Broto, said as quoted by Antara news agency on Thursday.
According to Gatot, the ministry and the Prima task force, which is in charge of the national training center, previously had set a target for the national team to at least reach the AFF Cup finals.
With soccer being expected to join the SEA Games program, Indonesia is set to participate in 18 disciplines in the biennial sporting event.
The government has decided only to send teams whose chances are high in claiming gold medals. Among the sports Indonesia is expected to do well in are track and field, swimming, badminton, weightlifting, and wushu. (dmr)
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