“Modern pentathlon, super athletes!” shouted five Indonesian athletes as they ended their training session at their official camp, Adria Pratama Mulya boarding school in Tapos village, Tigaraksa district, Banten, on Tuesday.

Of the five athletes that trained that day, only four made the cut to compete in the 18th Asian Games. Host Indonesia will send Frada Saleh Harahap and Yusri to the men’s individual event and Dea Salsabila Putri and Adrianida Irma to the women’s individual event next week. Maharani Azhri Raningtyas, who had trained at the camp since day one, was not put through to the women’s category.

During the training session on Tuesday, The Jakarta Post visited the camp at midday, as the five were finishing a 3.2-kilometer run. Afterward, the squad trained in pistol shooting by hitting a 10-meter target five times.

Earlier, the athletes kicked off the day by training in for the other pentathlon disciplines, namely horse riding, swimming and fencing. They also had a 30-minute jogging.

The national training camp began in February at a facility in Rawamangun, East Jakarta. The camp was moved to the boarding school, the official Asian Games venue for the pentathlon, in May. To stay competitive, each athlete has to train a minimum of eight hours per day.

At the Games, the athletes will race in five consecutive disciplines: fencing, 200-meter swimming, equestrian show-jumping, shooting and cross-country running. The competition can take up to nine hours in one day, beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting until 6 p.m.

The Jakarta-Palembang Games marks Indonesia’s debut in modern pentathlon, an Olympic sport.

The Indonesian team was hastily put together in a short period of time, as it lacked a true modern pentathlete. Indonesian Modern Pentathlon (PMI) built the team by recruiting athletes who specialize in single-discipline sports, such as swimming and running.

The federation even looked for help from the Indonesian Military, hence its selection of officers Frada and Yusri for the national team.

The eclectic mix of athletes was faced with a big burden, as they were forced to master all five sports within a short period of time.

Coach Silvia Kristina said the coaching team referred to its training strategy as an “instant training package”.

“They’ve probably mastered running and swimming, but for fencing [it takes time]. My approach is to give them a training program that is different to the ones applied for beginners,” Silvia, who specializes in fencing, told The Jakarta Post.

“This instant program won’t provide a lot and isn’t ideal.”

Of the five disciplines, equestrian show-jumping has been the biggest challenge for the team.

Frada and Dea said they were still facing troubles in mastering the discipline as they had no background in equestrian. The athletes admitted that they often fell off their horses while training.

When the national squad took part in a test event at the 2018 Dutch Open Coubertin Cup in Arnhem, the Netherlands, in June, it decided to skip the equestrian discipline for fear of falling off the horses and sustaining injuries.

Throughout the training, Dea has managed to jump over obstacles 60 centimeters and 70 cm high. The Asian Games will see 120 cm obstacles.

Silvia revealed that Indonesia had yet to have plan on continuing the training for pentathlon after the Games.

This year’s Games marks modern pentathlon’s fifth showing. It was featured in 2014, 2010, 2002 and 1994.

At the Olympics, the sport has been a mainstay since 1912.

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