Team Indonesia will focus on increasing its athletes’ chances of qualifying for and achieving success at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics following the Philippine government’s decision to postpone the ASEAN Para Games indefinitely over fears of the spread of COVID-19, the new name of the novel coronavirus disease.

However, Indonesia is ready to turn its focus back to preparing for the Para Games once the Philippines announces a new date for the biennial event.

Arlan Lukman of the Indonesian National Olympic Committee (NOC) said the agency had set up a team to provide analysis of where Indonesia’s best medal chances lay at the Tokyo Olympics.

Another team will be in charge of the athletes’ physical recovery during the national training camp to avoid injuries.

“The first team, comprising sport scientists, academics and former athletes, is tasked with providing accurate analysis of the best chances our athletes have to pass the qualifiers and win medals,” Arlan, the coordinator of both teams, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The first team’s main task is to compile data, from the athletes’ daily performances to their achievements at competitions, and to put together an overview of the events in which Indonesia has the best chances of success.

“From the statistics gathered from the Philippines SEA [Southeast Asian] Games, our athletes in sports like archery, weightlifting and badminton stand a fair chance of getting through the qualifiers and competing at the Tokyo Olympics. Now, given the limited time remaining, we need to increase of chances of success by maximizing the presence of our other athletes [at the Olympics],” he said.

Both teams have done preliminary research that has mostly focused on the Philippines SEA Games. The teams will commence their duties officially in March and will continue working until the athletes depart in July.

The same role has been carried by Satlak Prima in the past.

Indonesia has allocated Rp 143.2 billion (US$10.4 million) to hold training camps for the Olympics, Asian Games and SEA Games.

The budget is for a four-year training program that includes preparations for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics in Tokyo, the 2021 SEA Games, the 2022 Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Youth and Sports Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We expect to spend Rp 99 billion on training camps for Olympics events, while Rp 44 billion will be allocated for camps for sports featured at the 2021 SEA Games, 2022 Asian Games and 2024 Olympics," the statement read.

The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) is set to receive a budget of Rp 18.6 billion for its camp, while the Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) will receive Rp 10 billion and the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI) will receive Rp 3.2 billion.

For the Paralympics, the government has allocated Rp 80 billion for training camps.

“The [Rp 80 billion] budget has been allocated for the [2020] Paralympics and ASEAN Para Games training camps.

“However, because of the delay, we will prioritize the use of the budget for the Paralympics. Once the Philippines announces a new date for the 2020 Para Games, we will switch back to the former budget arrangement,” the ministry said.

— Niken Prathivi contributed to this story from Jakarta

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