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Games torch rounds NTB before reaching Raja Ampat
Flame on: Asian Games organizer Permana Sunu (second left) holds the Games’ flame in a lantern alongside Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation director Ngurah Wirawan (right) and Central Lombok regency secretary Nursiah (second right) during a torch relay event at Mandalika Beach in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday
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F
lame on: Asian Games organizer Permana Sunu (second left) holds the Games’ flame in a lantern alongside Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation director Ngurah Wirawan (right) and Central Lombok regency secretary Nursiah (second right) during a torch relay event at Mandalika Beach in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday. (Antara/Ahmad Subaidi)
The Asian Games torch touched down in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on Wednesday, after being flown in from Bali. The next round of the relay will be held in Raja Ampat, West Papua.
The torch touched down at Lombok International Airport in Central Lombok regency on Wednesday morning, before being paraded for 10 kilometers in the Mandalika special economic zone, an area designated by the government to spur economic growth and development within the region.
At Mandalika Beach, around 2,000 people gathered to see the torch, including students, tourists and the general public. The relay team was greeted by Sasak dance performances and Peresean fighting, a mock battle between two men wielding rattan swords and shields.
“We thank the Asian Games committee for making Lombok part of the torch’s route,” said Central Lombok regency secretary Nursiah.
He expressed hope that the torch relay would encourage the local youth to strive for glory in all sports.
“Especially after West Nusa Tenggara was in the national spotlight when homegrown athlete Lalu Muhammad Zohri won first place in the U-20 [100 meter dash] in Finland,” he added.
He expects Mandalika to be a global tourist destination within the next five to 10 years, and to help hype the torch relay, his organization arranged a beach clean-up and a public aerobics class.
The local administration laid out a route for the torch around the Mandalika area to promote it as a national tourist destination.
At noon, the relay was held in the province’s capital of Mataram. Mayor Ahyar Abduh handed the torch to a group of 17 bearers on Ampenan beach before it was carried for 5 km to the NTB governor’s hall.
At the last checkpoint, NTB Police chief Insp. Gen. Achmat Juri carried the torch to the finish line, where Governor Zainul Majdi, also known as Tuan Guru Bajang, welcomed it.
After receiving the torch, Zainal handed it to Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan who lit a mini cauldron with the torch’s flame.
The NTB leg is part of the month-long relay that is taking in 44 cities in 18 provinces over a distance of 18,000 km. The relay began in Yogyakarta on July 18 and will end on Aug. 15 in Jakarta before the Games’ opening ceremony at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan on Aug. 18.
In the home of world champion sprinter Zohri, who shook the world by clocking 10.18 seconds at the recent U-20 IAAF World Championships in Finland, the torch received a warm welcome from locals.
After NTB, the relay will continue in Raja Ampat and Sorong in West Papua from Thursday to Saturday.
