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ndonesia will host the third edition of the Asian Para Games in October, and one of its missions is educating local fans about the multisport event, while attracting wider recognition from the continent — and the world.

In 2018, the country is hosting two multisport events to be held in sequence. The Para Games will be held in Jakarta from Oct. 6 to 13, shortly after the 18th Asian Games in August and September.

However, it seems that the Para Games are a vague concept for people living in Indonesia.

Surastini, 23, admitted that she knew nothing at all about the Para Games tournament until she was interviewed by The Jakarta Post on Friday. The employee of a private company said the Para Games had little exposure as compared to the main Games.

“The coverage [of the Asian Para Games] is far below the Asian Games. It seems like [the Para Games] is a side program, while both events basically carry the same values and spirit,” said Surastini, who lives in Cirebon, West Java.

“However, I personally believe that the Asian Para Games have an added value, especially if we’re looking at the efforts of the athletes, who have certain physical conditions,” she added.

Jakarta resident Hans Nicholas, 29, said he had noticed a bit about the Para Games, thanks to his work as a writer in a media company.

As a regular Transjakarta passenger, Hans said he knew all about the much-trumpeted Asian Games, rather than the Para Games, as he often saw publicity relating to the initial tournament on buses and shelters.

Several billboards promoting the Jakarta-Palembang Games can be seen along the capital’s main roads, in contrast to the lack of buzz about the Para Games.

Hans said he had the intention of going to the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies because he had the chance to see the closing ceremony of the 2014 Games in Incheon, South Korea.

“Now I am curious about the ceremonies for the Para Games,” he said, adding that he might make time to go to venues to see the athletes in action at the Para Games.

Indonesian para table tennis athlete David Jacobs confirmed the low-key atmosphere at home ahead of the Para Games. He said his experience was different when he competed overseas, including in the 2012 London Paralympics, the 2014 Incheon Para Games and the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

“I could really feel the euphoria throughout the overseas [tournaments]. The host cities provided enough information about the events on every corner, and the spectators also showed enthusiasm,” said David, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Paralympics.

Of all tournaments he competed in, David cited Incheon and Rio as the cities that offered the best atmosphere in their respective sporting festivals.

Knowing the unfortunate situation at home, Raja Sapta Oktohari, chief of the Indonesian Asian Para Games Organizing Committee (INAPGOC), said promoting and running the tournament was indeed a challenge.

Okto, as he is known, said that in terms of public facilities, Indonesia was not friendly to people with special needs. In the larger view, several countries in Asia were totally clueless about the Para Games.

Hosting sporting events for people with impairments needed extra work as they needed special requirements in all aspects, hence promoting proper education about the event was essential, added Okto.

The Third Para Games will need a budget of at least Rp 1.7 trillion (US$124.3 million). The organizers, however, have only received about half of this sum from the state budget.