W

ith 22 gold medals in the bag halfway through the Asian Games, Indonesia has exceeded its initial target of securing 16 gold medals to ensure a top-10 finish at the continent’s biggest sporting event.

The country now has the challenge to set an even bigger target ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Japan, Sport and Youths Minister Imam Nahrawi said on Monday.

“We will start preparing for the 2020 Tokyo [Olympics] and the 2022 Asian Games […] It turns out, we earned some gold medals here [at the 2018 Games] in sports also competed at the Olympics,” the minister said during a press conference.

He was referring to men’s 62-kilogram weightlifting, women’s speed sports climbing, men’s 60-kg kumite karate, mixed double tennis and lightweight men’s eight rowing.

Prior to the Games, the government clustered the sports based on its athletes’ probability to win medals, with those having the potential to earn gold getting more intensive training and being sent to competitions
overseas.

“We will implement the same method we applied ahead of the Asian Games in terms of budgeting, facilities and tryout programs. We want to maintain their sense of competitiveness,” Imam said, adding that a thorough evaluation to determine the next target would be conducted after the Games.

“We will evaluate and prioritize accordingly — which [sports] will be prioritized for Olympics and which for the Asian Games,” he said.

According to the official medals tally as of Monday (at 11.30 p.m.), the host nation currently sits at fourth position with 22 gold, 15 silver and 27 bronze medals, and an all-Indonesian final at badminton men’s doubles on Tuesday assures another gold and silver medal.

On Monday morning, when the tally was still 15 gold medals for Indonesia, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo told Antara that he was optimistic the country could surpass 16 golds as targeted.

Pencak silat, a traditional Indonesian sport that made its debut in this year’s Games, contributed the most with eight gold medals, followed by sport climbing with three gold medals. Paragliding and cycling’s mountain bikes contributed two gold medals each.

The current gold medals tally is the highest the country has ever seen in its Asian Games history, bettering a previous record of 17 gold medals clinched in the 1962 Games, when the country hosted the quadrennial event for the first time.

Indonesia is hosting host the Games for the second time after Vietnam backed out from their bid to host the largest sporting event in Asia, citing a financial crisis.

Since agreeing to replace its neighboring country to host the event, Indonesia began revamping and building various infrastructure to support the Games.

Imam said the government now faced the challenge of making use of the venues beyond the Games.

“We are now thinking about what’s next for the venues. But certainly, they will be professionally managed. We can utilize them for hosting sporting events or use them for training camps, but it’s also possible to conduct cultural events there,” Imam said.

The Games, which are slated to end on Sunday, have earned praise for a spectacular grand opening and a traffic management scheme that allows smooth mobility for athletes and officials in a city notorious for its gridlock. However, several accidents also marred the event.

Three paragliding pilots from China, Japan and Afghanistan suffered injuries after crashing during their event. Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC), however, claimed that the mitigation efforts had prevented the athletes from suffering more severe injuries.

“We responded quickly by rushing them to a hospital using a helicopter and ambulance. Medical professionals are also available at every venue,” said INASGOC deputy I for Games operation Harry Warganegara Harun, adding that the athletes were recovering.

Meanwhile in Palembang, South Sumatra, Vice President Jusuf Kalla praised the Games and asked local administration to come up with plans on how to keep Jakabaring Sports City (JSC) "busy" after the event is over.

The request came after he witnessed first-hand some of the JSC’s top-notch venues, like the bowling center, beach volleyball court and lake.

“We, of course, don’t want to see Jakabaring end up like the many venues we had in East Kalimantan and Riau that have been abandoned for years. Governor Alex Noerdin's efforts to keep the Jakabaring Sport City in good shape is greatly appreciated,” he told journalists during his visit to JSC on Sunday.

The Jakabaring bowling center should have a special place in bowling fans' hearts as it is regarded as among the best three bowling centers in the world. It occupies 4,200 square meters and has 40 bowling lanes. APP Sinar Mas, one of Indonesia’s pulp and paper giants, which was asked to build the facility, earmarked Rp 27 billion (US$ 1.8 million) for its construction.

JSC occupies 325 hectares and is located five kilometers from downtown. It was initially used as a venue for the 2004 National Games (PON) and the 2011 Southeast Asian SEA Games, which Palembang also cohosted alongside Jakarta.