Competing In PON Papua, Three Sports From DIY Departed Today

Contingent from DIY/ Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The contingent from the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) that will compete in the Papua National Sports Week departs today, Sunday 19 September. With a strength of 32 personnel, including athletes from three sports plus personnel from KONI DIY and security from the DIY Police, this group is called the largest contingent from Yogyakarta.

“Today, the first largest contingent from DIY was dispatched to Papua. The hope is that the journey will be smooth and the entire contingent will arrive safely in Papua," said KONI DIY Chairperson Djoko Pekik Irianto quoting Antara, Sunday, September 19.

The athletes who were dispatched on the first flight came from the sports of water polo, kite flying and hang gliding.

The departure was carried out early because athletes from the water polo sport will undergo the qualifying round on September 23.

"This first contingent is also expected to provide information to the next contingent, for example, there are other things that must be prepared before departure," said Djoko.

He also did not forget to remind all athletes to always apply health protocols during the trip until later when they arrived in Papua and while competing in PON.

"The preparations have been very thorough. Now it's just a matter of making sure your physical and mental condition is well maintained. Try to focus on the match. There is no need to think about anything else,” said Djoko.

The first DIY contingent is scheduled to land in Papua on Monday, September 20, and it is planned that the Yogyakarta community community will pick it up in Jayapura.

Of the three sports (sports) that departed the earliest, Djoko said the contingent that had the greatest chance of winning the gold medal was kite flying.

“The race for kite flying is strongly influenced by weather conditions, in addition to the competition arena used. For that, psychological readiness is also very important to be maintained, "said Djoko.

However, according to him, the sport of hang gliding also showed good development during practice and test matches.

“There was a good improvement from the hang gliding team which was shown during the joint training in Pangandaran and Telomoyo. Hopefully it can give good results, "added Djoko.

The next largest DIY contingent will depart on September 30, with athletes from four sports as strong as athletes.