KONI: PON 2028 Will Focus On Olympic Sports

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Central Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI), Marciano Norman, stated that the 2028 National Sports Week (PON) will focus on sports included in the Olympic list. This aims to improve the quality of competition and produce international standard athletes.

"(PON) later we will start to lead to the Olympic sport, so that the number of branches competed is not much in PON," Marciano said in a written statement received in Jakarta, Sunday, November 3.

PON 2028, which is planned to be held in the Provinces of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), will implement certain standards for participating athletes, ensuring that only the best quality can compete. In addition, focusing on the Olympic sport will help Indonesia prepare athletes for world-class competitions.

Even so, KONI will still support various sports that are not competed in PON. They can participate in other events such as the National Self-Defense Sports Week (Indonesia Martial Art Games/IMAG), the National Beach Sports Week (Indonesia Beach Games), the Indoor Sports Week (Indonesia Indoor Games), and the Youth PON (Indonesia Youth Games). These events are breakthroughs from the Central KONI and will be held every two years in various districts/cities.

Selain itu, Marciano menekankan pentingnya perbaikan tata kelola organisasi olahraga dari pusat hingga daerah, dengan berharap dapat meningkatkan program pembinaan atlet secara produktif.

"If athletes at the district/city level already have good quality, then those who compete and become champions at the provincial and national levels will really be the best athletes," he explained.

KONI will also further tighten championships at the provincial and district/city levels so that PON can present champions with international standard achievements. "Don't let athletes become national champions, but the results are still far from the expected standards," added Marciano.

With this new direction, KONI hopes that the 2028 PON can be an important step in producing Indonesian athletes who are ready to compete in the international arena.