Kaleidoscope 2023: Indonesia's Journey In Four Multi-Branchs, SEA Games Print History

CdM SEA Games 2023, Lexyndo Hakim (center), together with President of NOC Indonesia, Raja Sapta Oktohari (right) (doc. NOC Indonesia).

JAKARTA Year 2023 is a very busy year for Indonesian sports. There are four major multi-branch events that must be followed.

The four multi-branches in question are the 2023 Cambodian SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games and the 2022 Asian Games which will be held in Hangzhou, China.

The series of activities started with the 2023 SEA Games which was held from 5 to 17 May 2023. Indonesia is one of 11 countries participating in the event with the theme Sport Into Peace.

After that, Indonesia took part in the 2023 ASEAN Para Games. The event took place from 3-9 June 2023 which was attended by a total of 1,453 athletes for 12 sports.

The next two multi-branch events are the 2022 Asian Games which take place from September 23 to October 8, 2023 and the Asian Para Games from October 22 to 28, 2023.

SEA Games 2023 Cambodia

The Indonesian contingent went to the event under the leadership of Chef de Mission (CdM) Lexyndo Hakim. The chairman of the DKI Perbasi Provincial Management (Pengprov) was appointed as CdM on February 14, 2023 at the Office of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI).

Lexyndo only has 80 days since being appointed to lead the Indonesian contingent towards the 2023 SEA Games. However, he was able to bring Indonesia past the target of President Joko Widodo.

The Indonesian contingent went to Cambodia with a target of winning more than 69 gold medals from the President of the Republic of Indonesia. This figure follows Indonesia's previous achievements at the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam.

The target was easily passed by representatives of Indonesia. The achievement of 87 gold, 80 silver, and 109 bronze, made the Red and White team end the 2023 SEA Games in third place.

Indonesia is below Vietnam, which ranks first with 136 gold, 105 silver, and 114 bronze and Thailand in second place collecting 108 gold, 96 silver and 108 bronze.

In addition to successfully passing the target, Indonesia is also making history at the 2023 SEA Games. One of them is from the Indonesian Women's Basketball National Team which won the gold medal for the first time after 46 years of participating in the SEA Games.

In addition, the U-22 Indonesian Football National Team also won a gold medal after defeating Thailand. This ended the 32-year wait without a gold medal from the SEA Games football branch.

The last time the Indonesian football team won the SEA Games gold medal was in 1991.

Indonesia's achievements have made the government have to disburse funds amounting to Rp289 billion for bonuses for athletes, coaches, and assistant coaches.

Cambodia's ASEAN Para Games 2023

A brilliant achievement was successfully made by Indonesia in this event. The overall title was successfully maintained by the Red-White troops who sent a total of 268 athletes.

Of these athletes, Indonesia successfully closed the 2023 ASEAN Para Games with a collection of 401 medals. With details of 159 gold medals, 148 silver medals, and 94 bronze medals.

This result succeeded in exceeding the set target. For the gold medal, initially the Indonesian representative was targeted to bring home 121, but that number was successfully passed.

This general champion is the third time in a row to belong to Indonesia. Previously, the same achievement was made at the 2017 ASEAN Para Games Malaysia and Surakarta 2022.

The achievement in Cambodia was accompanied by several carved records. Garuda's total representatives managed to break records in 15 numbers, four each from lifting weights and 11 from swimming.

For this achievement, President Joko Widodo also disbursed funds amounting to Rp320.5 billion. The bonus handover process was carried out in front of the State Palace, Jakarta, Monday, July 30, 2023.

Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games

After hosting the previous edition, Indonesia left for Hangzhou with a target of a drastic decline. The reason is, the pencak silat, which became the mainstay sport when they hosted, was not contested in China.

In this four-year event throughout Asia, the total Red and White sent 413 athletes to appear in 30 sports. The targeted target is to bring home eight to 12 gold medals.

Unfortunately, the target missed because some of the leading sports did not get a gold medal. The most painful is badminton, which has always been the backbone, getting nothing in Hangzhou.

The 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou witnessed for the first time in 61 years since the 1962 Asian Games, the badminton team failed to win a medal at the prestigious Asian sports event.

Failure in some of the leading branches has forced Indonesia to return from the Hangzhou Asian Games with seven gold, 11 silver and 18 bronze medals. The results that made Merah-White fail to sit in the top 12 of the final standings.

Despite failing to meet the target, Indonesia can still be proud because there are several athletes who are able to set records, both for the Asian and world levels.

One of the names that stands out so prominent is lifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah who managed to set a record for Asia, Asian Games, and the world, when he won a gold medal in the 73 kg class.

The world record he broke was clean and jerk with a lift of 201 kg. This record automatically goes to Asian records and Asian Games records. In addition, he also broke the Asian Games record in terms of a total lift of 359 kg.

Apart from Rahmat, rock climbing athletes Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi and Veddriq Leonardo also set a record in this four-year multi-branch event.

Made Rita has recorded three records. First, she did it in the women's speed qualifying round with a record time of 6.60 seconds to pass the record for Indonesian athlete Aries Susanti Rahayu at the 2018 Asian Games.

In the last 16, Desak Made Rita again set a new record with a time of 6.52 seconds. This means that he broke his personal record at the Asian Games in the previous qualifying round.

The athlete, who has won tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics, has again set a record in the final with a time of 6.36 seconds. This broke his record and surpassed Deng Lijuan's Asian record (6.47 seconds).

Meanwhile, Veddriq Leonardo set a record in the men's speed qualifying round with a time of 4.97 seconds. This figure broke the record of Reza Alipour who won gold at the 2018 Asian Games with a time of 5.63 seconds.

Although it did not meet the target, the government in its plan to increase the medal-winning bonus by five percent of the nominal received by medalists in the previous Asian Games edition.

Asian Para Games 2023

After not meeting the target at the Asian Games, Indonesia again managed to talk a lot at the 2022 Asian Para Games in the same place. At this event, the Red-White finished in sixth place in the final standings.

Garuda troops successfully brought home a total of 95 medals at this event as well as exceeded the target given. This number is spread out with details of 29 gold medals, 30 silver medals, and 36 bronze medals.

Indonesia was originally expected to be included in the top 10 of the final standings with 19 gold, 23 silver and 25 bronze medals, from 12 sports (sports) followed.

The above results make Indonesia the best among other ASEAN countries in this event. In the top 10, Thailand is also in seventh place and the Philippines is in ninth place.

In addition, the Indonesian contingent also managed to break 13 records. In detail, eight Asian Para Games records, three Asian records, and two world records.

The government has a plan to increase bonuses to medal-winning athletes at the 2022 Asian Para Games by five percent the same as the Asian Games. However, the bonuses at these two events have not been disbursed until now.