President Jokowi Will Receive The Paralympic Contingent At The Palace, But Quarantine First

JAKARTA - Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali said President Joko Widodo was scheduled to receive the Indonesian contingent for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics at the Presidential Palace after all of them had finished undergoing quarantine.

"President Jokowi expressed his gratitude to the athletes, coaches and the entire Indonesian contingent. The President also advised that after quarantine, he is scheduled to receive the Paralympic contingent at the palace," Amali said in her remarks at the return of the last batch of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Tangerang, Tuesday morning, reported by Antara.

On this occasion, Amali also emphasized that what the Indonesian contingent showed at the Tokyo Paralympics was absolutely no different from the Olympics because both could produce achievements and could make the nation proud.

The Minister of Youth and Sports appealed to the public to also provide the same support to the Indonesian contingent at the Tokyo Paralympics.

“The current position of Olympic and Paralympic athletes is equal. The government pays the same attention to Olympic and Paralympic athletes. It is hoped that the community can also provide the same support for both of them,” said Zainudin Amali.

Indonesia recorded an extraordinary achievement at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics event. History was created with two gold, three silver and four bronze medals.

"One thing that makes us proud is that the achievement of this contingent has increased very rapidly and is extraordinary compared to the 2016 Rio de Janiero Paralympics, at that time Indonesia was only ranked 76th, but now it has risen to 43rd rank," said Zainudin Amali.

The return of the last batch of the Indonesian Paralympic contingent was led directly by Chef de Mission Andi Herman and NPC Indonesia Chairman Senny Marbun and there were athletes from para-badminton and para-athletic sports.

Also in the group were gold medalists Leani Ratri Oktila, Khalimatus Sadiyah, and Hary Susanto.