KOI: Achievement Improvement In 2023 Becomes Indonesia's Provision Towards The Paris Olympics

Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI/NOC Indonesia) Raja Sapta Oktohari. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI/NOC Indonesia) Raja Sapta Oktohari assessed that the increase in achievements in various sports in 2023 was a provision for Indonesian athletes to go to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Quoted from an official statement, Monday, January 1, the man who is familiarly called Okto said Indonesia's achievements last year were more colorful, with some of the sports that were less familiar before.

"We can see that usually Indonesian sports are only dominated by badminton, weightlifting, archery, now other sports have also given a new color to Indonesia's sports achievements," Okto said, quoted from Antara.

"We can see football, cricket, hockey, the men's relay team that brought home the gold medal for the Red and White at the 2023 SEA Games Cambodia, and this is also the successor to the tradition of our team of sports strength," he added.

On the other hand, he also appreciated the achievements shown by the Indonesian Team athletes at the 2022 Asian Games Hangzhou, where the Red and White Team was ranked 13th by bringing home seven gold, 11 silver, and 18 bronze.

For information, the Hangzhou Asian Games are multi-events with the most total gold pieces won by the Garuda Squad since the last 41 years outside Indonesia as the host.

On the other hand, the Indonesian Team has secured five tickets to appear on the world's largest sporting stage. They are archer Arif Dwi Pangestu and Diananda Choirunisa, artistic gymnast Rifda Irfanalutfi, as well as climbing sports athlete Desak Made Rita and Rahmad Adi Mulyono.

"We will continue to oversee the qualification process. God willing, we will provide updates regarding the preparation of the Indonesian Team for the Paris Olympics at the beginning of the year, including the announcement of the Chef de Mission Team Indonesia 2024," said Okto.

At the beginning of this year there will also be Olympic qualifying tournaments in Indonesia, such as the Asian Rifle & Pistol Championship (5-18 January) and the Indonesia Masters (23-28 January) which are the struggles for Race to Paris points.

Furthermore, he admitted that he was optimistic that the Indonesian Team could create a new history in Paris.

"I see that our medal potential is not only from badminton, but also from badminton, but also from other potentials such as weightlifting, sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding," he said.

"This will give a new color to the world of sports in the world of achievement sports in Indonesia so that we are even more enthusiastic in developing achievements to the highest level, namely the Olympics and God willing, we can also carry out our great ideals, namely to host the Olympics," he added.