The 18-year-old sensation Lalu Muhammad Zohri is turning a new page.

After receiving a warm welcome when he touched down in his home country at almost midnight on Tuesday, Zohri, who won the men’s 100 meters in the 2018 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) U-20 World Championship last week, also met President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to receive congratulations in person.

On Wednesday morning, he was invited to meet Jokowi at the Bogor Palace in Bogor, West Java.

“The President hopes that I can perform my best during the upcoming Asian Games, maintain the spirit to practice and keep being humble since, God willing, my journey is still long,” Zohri said on Wednesday, revealing Jokowi’s message to him after the two met in person.

Meanwhile, the President went on to say he expected Zohri’s success to inspire young talent and other athletes so that there could be more superstars rising with gold medals in various competitions.

At the late Tuesday homecoming ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten, Zohri enjoyed a warm welcome as dozens of reporters swarmed the arrival gate with flashing cameras.

The new world champion, who clocked 10.18 seconds to stun favorites from the United States in Finland, looked puzzled as he might have thought the welcoming ceremony was a bit too much for him.

Confetti was thrown into the air when Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi hugged the Lombok native in front of the crowd. Zohri still looked confused as he tried to deal with the flashing cameras and photographers calling his name to get photos.

“I did not expect that I could be the world champion because I finished in fourth during the semifinals. But I knew God would help me. I just locked my eyes on the finish line,” Zohri said in his speech at the airport.

Despite the great news, Indonesia Athletics Federation (PASI) chief Bob Hasan reminded the public to remain calm in response to Zohri’s win, in the hopes that more subdued congratulations would keep the sprinter
humble.

The association earlier said putting too much hope on Zohri’s shoulders would not be wise as he was a junior athlete and would face tough competitors in the Games.

“His opponents from China and Qatar could finish under 10 seconds. We will not give him any burden to win big in the Asian Games,” said PASI secretary-general Tigor Tanjung. Besides the men’s 100 m, Zohri is also set to compete in the men’s 4x100 m relay in the Games.

In the meantime, Zohri and his family back in Karang Pangsor, Pemenang Barat subdistrict, North Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara, had been receiving endless support from various parties.

The support ranges from an offer to renovate the sprinter’s parents’ house in Karang Pangsor to providing him with new houses in the province and bonus money.

The ministry committed itself to hand Zohri Rp 250 million (US$17,353) in bonuses. In the meantime, his coach, Eni Nuraeni, would also receive a bonus of Rp 100 million.

In Lombok, Military Command Post (Korem) 162 Wirabhakti spokesman Maj. Inf Dahlan said the renovation on Zohri’s parents’ house was still in progress.

Dahlan said the rebuilding of the house was being conducted by personnel from the military, the police, the Institute of Public Administration (IPDN), local administration and the community. The materials to rebuild also came from the regency administration.

He said the old house had already been dismantled and the new one was ready to be built. At the request of Zohri’s family, the renovation would be done without changing the original shape of the house or the materials.

“The concept remains the same: use wood,” said Dahland.

— Panca Nugraha contributed to this story from Mataram.

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