Junior Indonesian Athletes Flop on Big Stage

Indonesia’s top sports officials are sounding the alarm following the poor performance of national athletes at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore.

Ade Lukman Djajadi, the national team’s chef de mission to the Games, said the disappointing results were of little surprise and blamed the country’s “weak sports program.”

“We are paying the price for neglecting our junior athletes for so long,” Ade said on Saturday.

“Though we never said we would win many medals [in Singapore], the results have been far from acceptable,” he said.

Indonesia sent a modest squad of 14 athletes to compete in seven sports in Singapore, but the country’s only realistic chances of winning medals were in badminton and weightlifting.

However, the shuttlers didn’t live up to expectations, with Evert Sukamta and Renna Suwarno failing to make it to the medal rounds. Evert was ousted in the quarterfinals of the boys’ singles, and Renna failed to make it past the opening group stage in the girls’ singles.

Indonesian athletes competing in tennis, taekwondo and swimming, who had been granted wild cards by their international federations, didn’t make it out of the preliminary rounds.

On Friday, Arnoscy Pratama Siahaan fittingly wrapped up the Indonesian team’s campaign in the pool by finishing dead last out of seven athletes in the boys’ 200-meter butterfly heats.

Weightlifter Dewi Safitri was the only Indonesian to make it onto the podium, clinching the bronze medal in the women’s 53-kilogram division.

While heads were hanging in Indonesia, its neighbors were busy celebrating.

Thailand, traditionally not known for its badminton prowess, saw its shuttlers win the gold medals in both the boys’ and girls’ singles.

Vietnam, one of Indonesia’s main rivals in weightlifting, won gold in the men’s 56-kilogram category and took silver in the women’s 55kg class.

Singapore picked up two bronze medals in taekwondo, while Malaysia took home a silver in diving.

Ade said reforming the development system was “imperative.” “This must serve as a wake-up call to improve our sports programs, which, to be honest, are weak,” he said.

“We have to start that now as our neighbors in Southeast Asia have shown great improvement in many disciplines.”

Felix C Sutanto, the national swimming coach, agreed that there was an “urgent” need to overhaul the youth athletic development program.

“If we keep delaying it, the country will be left far behind,” he said.

One of the few bright spots on the country’s Youth Olympic team was Elga Kharisma Novanda.

The 17-year-old junior cyclist, the only Asian rider who competed in women’s BMX in Singapore, reached the final round, where she finished in seventh place.

In her second event, the women’s time trial on Sunday, Elga finished 11th in a field of 31 riders.

“[Elga] has proven that she has the potential to compete with the best,” said Zuchry Husein, deputy secretary general of the Indonesian Cycling Union (ISSI).

“She will be a star as long as we help her to maintain her performance, and that means supporting her by sending her to international competitions.”

Rita Subowo, president of the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI), said she was concerned about the future of sports here unless immediate steps were taken. “This should serve as a warning for us, that our future could be in jeopardy if we fail to respond to the challenge.”

“Thailand and Vietnam are already reaping the fruits of all the efforts they’ve put into their junior athletic development programs. This is an encouraging result for them, and we don’t want to be left behind,” she said.

(This article was published on www.thejakartaglobe.com on Aug. 22, 2010)