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fter bagging two silver medals and one bronze at the 2018 Asian Games, the Indonesian track and field squad now has its sights set on qualifying for three events at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The men’s 100 meters, the men’s long jump and the men’s 4x100 m relay are the events that the Indonesia Athletics Federation (PASI) believes Indonesia has potential in.

At the Asian Games, relay sprinters Bayu Kertanegara, Eko Rimbawan, Fadlin and Lalu Muhammad Zohri earned Indonesia a silver in the men’s 4x100 m, while Sapwaturrahman won bronze in the men’s long jump. Another silver was presented to Emilia Nova in the women’s 100 m hurdles. In the men’s 100 m, the federation is likely to rely on rising young star Zohri.

Although he finished seventh at the Games with a time of 10.20 seconds, his first-place performance at the U-20 IAAF Championships in Tampere, Finland, where he scored a personal best of 10.18 seconds, has put him in the spotlight.

PASI chief Bob Hasan said Thursday that qualifying for the Olympics posed no easy task.

“We need to practice harder. The requirements for competing at the Tokyo Olympics are so hard to match. For example, in the [men’s] 100 meters, our sprinters must be able to finish under 10 seconds,” he said.

Despite the focus on the three events, Bob said the opportunity for athletes to qualify in other events was there as long as they gave their best within the next two years.

“We are competing against over 200 countries. Short-distance running is usually monopolized by Jamaica, while African countries dominate long-distance running,” he said, adding that the federation would continue to turn to United States coach Harry Marra for expertise. In his advisory role, Marra has helped to develop Indonesian athletes.

The federation is now busy looking for a new sprinter, as one of its members from the 4x100 m relay team, Fadlin, has retired from international competition to start his career as a coach.

PASI secretary-general Tigor Tanjung said finding a replacement for Fadlin was important as the relay competition required not just strong sprinters, but those with chemistry.

The schedule is set for qualification events at the Tokyo Olympics. According to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website, qualifiers for 10,000 m, marathons, race walks, combined events and relays will run from Jan. 1, 2019 to June 29, 2020.

As for all other events, the qualification period starts on July 1, 2019 and ends on June 29, 2020.

Athletes can qualify for the Olympics based on their world ranking at the end of the qualification period or by “achieving the entry standard within the qualification period”, the IAAF stated.

The three events PASI hopes to excel in will be highly competitive. In the men’s 100 m, only 56 spots are available, while the men’s 4x100 m relay will only see 16 teams advance. In the men’s long jump, 32 spots are available.

To reward its athletes for their performances at the Asian Games, PASI will send some of them, including three sprinters from the men’s relay team, their coach Eni Nuraeni and federation staff, to Mecca to go on umrah (minor haj) in October.