TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia is targeting one silver medal and one bronze in the Asian Youth Games (AYG) II in Nanjing, China, which will be held on August 16 - 24. According to the Minister of Youth and Sport, Roy Suryo, the athletes are expected to compete optimally regardless the target.
"Keep the enthusiasm and play without burdens," said the minister at the inaugural ceremony in the Indonesian Sport Committee (KOI) Jakarta, earlier this week. He added the AYG will be a valuable experience for Indonesian athletes in the future competition, especially the coming Asian Games.
Indonesia will send a contingent consisting of 144 athletes and officials to the AYG II. The first batch will depart on August 12 for football and table tennis team.
Indonesian contingent commander, Ade Lukman, said that Indonesia is expecting the badminton team to win silver medals in the championship. Based on the team analysis, badminton has a big potential to contribute silver medals. "The other categories such as judo, athletic, swimming, and shooting also have potentials to win," said Ade. AYG is a championship worth participating to see the Indonesian athletes' achievement in Asian level.
Jonathan Christie, one of the badminton athletes, is optimistic that he will contribute one medal for the country. "I am hoping to win a gold medal," said Jonathan who won the gold medal in the latest ASEAN School Games championship.
ADITYA BUDIMAN