Govt Pledges to Help Indonesian Athletes Teach at Universities

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Youth and Sports Ministry has pledged to help Indonesia`s athletes, who gained success at the 18th Asian Games and other international sport events, to get recruited to be part-time teaching staff at universities across the country.

"Recruiting the reputable athletes is important because the university students may not get the athletes` international experiences from their formal courses containing four or six credits," Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi told journalists on Monday.

For this purpose, the ministry would attempt to collaborate with the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, he said adding that the athletes` experiences need to be shared with the university students to make them grow up with resilient fighting spirit.

The athletes that the universities recruit to be their part-time lecturers are also expected to get encouraged to keep chasing their dreams of gaining higher achievements in sports. "The flame of enthusiasm should remain alive," he said.

The central government has provided a total of Rp210 billion in bonuses for the Indonesian athletes, coaches, and assistant coaches taking part in the 2018 Asian Games.

Imam Nahrawi said earlier that each individual gold medalist competing in a singles event receives Rp1.5 billion, Rp1 billion in doubles event and Rp750 million in team events.

Meanwhile, each individual silver and bronze medalist competing in a singles event receives Rp500 million and Rp250 million, in doubles event Rp400 million and Rp200 million and in team events Rp300 million and Rp150 million respectively.

Coaches of gold, silver and bronze medalists receive Rp450 million, Rp150 million, and Rp75 million respectively.

Assistant coaches of gold, silver and bronze medalist get Rp300 million, Rp100 million, and Rp50 million each.

The athletes would also be given chances to become civil servants and part-time teaching staff at universities, he added.

During this Asia`s biggest multi-sport event, Indonesia bagged 31 gold medals, 24 silver medals, and 43 bronze medals, making it be the top four behind China, Japan, and South Korea.

Indonesia hosted the Asian Games for the second time this year after Jakarta was selected as the venue for the Asian sporting event in 1962.

This year, Jakarta and Palembang co-hosted the games from Aug 18 to Sept 2. By virtue of its hosting the 2018 games, the country had earlier set a target of securing top 10 position in medal tally.

At this world`s second-biggest multi-sport event after the Olympics, some 15 thousand athletes from 45 countries competed in 462 events across 40 sports, of which 32 were Olympic sports.

The Olympic sports were Aquatics, Athletics, Fencing, Weightlifting, Basketball, Handball, Badminton, Baseball/Softball, Cycling, Equestrian, Golf, Wrestling, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Canoeing and Kayaking, Sailing, Shooting, Modern Pentathlon, Archery, Sport Climbing, Rowing, Rugby, Gymnastics, Roller Skating, Football, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Boxing, Triathlon, and Volleyball.

The non-Olympic sports were Bowling; Bridge; Cricket; Kabaddi; Martial Arts, including Jujitsu, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Sambo, and Wushu; Mechanical Sports, such as Paragliding and Jet Skiing; Squash; and Sepak Takraw.

ANTARA