Indonesia is confident it will reach its target of 56 gold medals and 95 silvers and finish at least in fourth position at the upcoming 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Southeast Asia’s largest country finished in fifth place at the last games held in Singapore, collecting 47 golds and 61 silvers.

“We hope the athletes can make breakthroughs. As you can see, your peers have managed to achieve astonishing things, such as the volleyball team that entered the semifinal round of the Asian competition and a swimmer who became the eight best swimmer in the world,” Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) chief Erick Thohir said before 250 athletes attending a ceremony at the Youth and Sports Ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said all stakeholders had put in their best efforts to ensure that the preparations for the event had run smoothly.

“The SEA Games is preparation for the Asian Games. We have a challenging target, but I’m sure that we can do this if we have strong will power,” he said.

Indonesia is set to send 857 delegation members, 534 of them athletes, to compete at the event in Kuala Lumpur, set to run from Aug. 19 to Aug. 30.

The contingent received Rp 30 billion (U$2.3 million) in funds from the government and another Rp 5 billion from the Indonesia Gold Program (Satlak Prima).

However, the contingent is still short another Rp 6 billion to cover expenses and is in the process of addressing this.

Commenting on this, KOI acting secretary-general Hellen Sarita de Lima confirmed the shortage but added that it could be settled.

Indonesia’s chef de mission Aziz Syamsuddin is confident that leading sports like badminton, swimming and weightlifting will contribute to the country’s medals tally.

Sharing the same optimism is Futsal team goalkeeper Citra Adisti who says the target is feasible considering the huge amount of training that has been endured by the team during preparations.

Despite positive tones from supporters, some have criticized the preparations and training.

Djoko Pramono of the Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) said the upcoming event would properly assess whether the preparations were adequate or not.

“The results will speak for themselves,” he told The Jakarta Post. Indonesia will also send 20 people to take on roles as referees and judges in the biennial games.

More than 4,000 athletes from the region are expected to compete in 38 sporting events.

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