Amid a stunning display of fireworks and series of rousing musical performances, Indonesia bid farewell on Saturday to the 2018 Asian Para Games with pride, having collected more medals than its initial target.

Indonesia ranked fifth in the overall medals tally with 37 golds from a total of 135 medals.  

Some spectators could not help but shed a few tears as short clips of athletes and volunteers who had given their best to serve their countries in the past seven days flashed across a large screen on stage.

Madya Stadium in the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex, Central Jakarta, supports 5,000 seats, but thousands of volunteers and athletes were seen enjoying the ceremony from the center field.

“This has been an excited week for Indonesia and Asia. A week that will always be remembered by all Indonesians,” Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in his closing statement on Saturday.

The closing ceremony was enlivened by South Korean popular girl group AOA and Indonesian singers such as Sherly Sheinafia, Judika, Rio Febrian, Cokelat and Netral band.  

The event saw Indonesia officially handing over the Asian Para Games flag to Hangzhou, China, who will host the competition in 2022.  

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan first returned the flag to Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) president Majid Rashed.

Indonesian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) president Senny Marbun also handed a box with the word ABILITY on it to China Disabilities Committee president Zhang Haidi as a symbol to continue spreading the message of equality for people with disabilities in the 2022 Asian Para Games. (dic)

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