While their compatriots are busy training without having to think too much about finances, three Indonesian trampolinists have to bear that burden while preparing to compete in next month’s Asian Games at home.

Calvin Ponco Ayaga, Dhimas Sindhu Aji and Yudha Tri Aditya are currently training thanks to the support from a private party, as they haven’t received any financial support from the government.

Their unfortunate situation is the result of a late decision made by the host to compete in the men’s trampoline category. There had been a miscommunication between the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Indonesian Gymnastics Association (Persani) about whether or not there would be a men’s trampoline category at the Games.

In April, the ministry confirmed that the category would be included, but this did not leave enough time for Team Indonesia to prepare.

Following the mix up, Persani could not get the three athlete’s names until May, by which time it was too late for the federation to propose a financial budget to set up a national training camp.

Therefore, the federation turned to the help of Houbii, an urban adventure park in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. Houbii supports the athletes by providing hotel accommodation, a training facility and meals for about two months, starting from June 10.

Deciding to join the national team means the athletes have to leave their respective hometowns and jobs.

Yudha was once an acrobatic performer in a mall in Bandung, West Java. Deciding to join the national training camp was not an easy choice for the 28-year-old as it meant he had to leave his job, which was his only livelihood.

“I want to work again in the same place after the Asian Games, but my employer said he would not welcome me because I had decided to join the training camp,” Yudha said recently.

“He said, ‘it’s better for you to stay in your job where you get a monthly allowance rather than competing in the Asian Games, which is temporary,’” he added.

Yudha was hurt to hear such comments because competing in the Games was one of his and his late father’s dreams. He still hasn’t thought about his future after the Games end.

Before joining the training camp, all the athletes were artistic gymnasts. They learned trampoline only by watching YouTube videos.

Yudha, for example, competed in the National Games in 2008, 2012 and 2016, while Calvin participated in the National Youth Games in East Java’s capital Surabaya in 2014, where he won two gold medals.

Now, they are being trained by national coach Lulu Manurung of Persani.

The athletes are holding their daily training sessions at Houbii’s facility in Pondok Indah, alongside regular visitors.

Despite being the underdogs, the three still showed motivation during training.

Persani received about 70 percent of its allocated budget of Rp 7.5 billion (US$521,014) to set up training camps, but only for athletes in the rhythmic and artistic disciplines. It said the allocated funding would not be enough to also support the trampoline squad.

“I sent a proposal for an increased budget [for the trampoline squad] in May, but we still haven’t received any feedback,” Persani’s sports development head Dian Arifin told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

“The available money has been used for things such as accommodation and tryout expenses, and [the remainder] is only enough to cover the athletes’ allowances [in the rhythmic and artistic categories] until October,” she said, adding that allocating the remaining money to the trampoline squad would violate the regulations.

Mulyana, who oversees sports development at the Sports Ministry, said increasing the proposed budget was unlikely and left the financial problem to the federation.

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