Indonesian athletes will participate in the world’s largest sporting event for people with disabilities, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, from August 24 to September 5, 2021.

This year, 23 Indonesian athletes will compete in seven sports at the Paralympic Games. Badminton and track and field are the sports with the largest number of athletes, seven each.

Meanwhile, three athletes will compete in table tennis, two in swimming, two in shooting and one in cycling and powerlifting.

The Indonesian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) had set four goals for the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Currently, two have been completed.

First, the Indonesian AFN initially planned to send 15 athletes. The final contingent has a much larger number of athletes than the initial goal.

Meanwhile, the AFN aimed to send athletes for six sports. At present, Indonesia has secured its participation in seven sports.

Today, there are only two goals left: to win a gold medal and find a place in the top 60. The goals were set to beat the nation’s performance at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

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After the 2016 event, the Indonesian contingent returned with a bronze medal, won by powerlifting athlete Ni Nengah Widiasih in the women’s 41kg category, which placed Indonesia in 76th place in the final standings. medals.

Main sport

Indonesia excels in both weightlifting and badminton, as evidenced by the five medals won at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

And badminton and powerlifting athletes are also expected to win medals at the Paralympic Games.

Leani Ratri Oktila is one of the athletes aiming for a medal in badminton. She will play in three events – SL4 women’s singles badminton; women’s doubles SL3-SU5 with Khalimatus Sadiyah Sukohandoko; and mixed doubles SL3-SU5 with Hary Susanto.

She already has several achievements in major competitions and even won six gold medals at the ASEAN Para Games.

She won three of the medals at the 2015 ASEAN Paralympic Games in Singapore in the SL4 Women’s Badminton Singles; double ladies SL3 / SL4 / SU5 with Sukohandoko; and, in mixed doubles SL3 / SL4 / SU5 with Fredy Setiawan.

Meanwhile, at the ASEAN Paralympic Games in Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in 2017, she managed to maintain her previous feat. However, she won the mixed doubles badminton event with Susanto this time around.

Oktila also stood out at the Asian Paralympic Games with three gold, two silver and one bronze.

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She won a gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Paralympic Games in mixed doubles SL3 / SL4 with Setiawan. Meanwhile, she got the other two at the Jakarta Asian Games 2018 in women’s doubles SL3-SU5 with Sukohandoko and in mixed doubles SL3-SU5 with Susanto.

The 30-year-old also earned respect at the 2017 World Championships in Ulsan, South Korea, where she won three gold, two silver and one bronze. She won her first world championship gold medal with Susanto in the SL3-SU5 mixed doubles event.

She improved her performance at the 2019 World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, winning two gold medals in SL4 women’s singles and SL3-SU5 mixed doubles with Susanto.

Her accomplishments led her to be named the Best Athlete of the World Badminton Federation in 2018 and 2019.

Besides Oktila, Indonesia also has another athlete in contention for gold: Ni Nengah Widiasih, who became the contingent savior at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

At the event, she delivered a bronze performance of 95 kg. Meanwhile, Turkey’s representative Nazmiye Muratl won the gold medal with 104 kg and Zhe Chui of China won the silver medal with 102 kg.

To prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, she competed in several championships with excellent results in the middle of this year.

She clinched a gold medal in the women’s 41kg event at the World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand in May this year by registering 96kg in her third try.

About a month later, Widiasih also competed in the powerlifting world championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She finished third in the women’s 49 kg event after lifting 97 kg.

Indonesia also expects table tennis player David Jacobs to win medals. Jacobs, who won bronze in men’s class 10 table tennis at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, will compete again this year.

The most in history

Fourteen Indonesian men and nine women athletes will compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The number is the highest in the nation’s history of participation in the event.

Indonesia made their debut at the 1976 Toronto Paralympic Games. At the time, Indonesia sent 12 male athletes and won two gold, one silver and six bronze to finish in the 26th. position.

Four years later, at the Paralympic Games in Arnhem in 1980, the Indonesian contingent grew to 15 male athletes. However, the nation slipped to 28th place in the standings, with two gold and four bronze.

When the 1984 Paralympic Games were held in New York, USA, and Stoke Mandeville, UK, the Indonesian contingent consisted of just eight athletes – six men and two women. At the event, Indonesia was ranked 41st in the event, with a silver and a bronze.

The next Paralympic Games were held in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. With a team of 17 male and two female athletes, Indonesia won two silver medals and finished 43rd.

While Indonesia did not participate in the Paralympic Games in Barcelona and Madrid in 1992, four years later it sent an athlete to the Paralympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, but did not win any medals.

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Indonesia continued to participate without winning medals in the following three editions: the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000 (four male athletes), the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004 (three male athletes) and the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008 (two male athletes and one female athlete).

Finally, David Jacobs brought back the tradition of medals with a bronze medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. At the time, Indonesia sent three male and one female athletes to finish in 74th place.

The feat was maintained at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016. Indonesia sent nine athletes to the event and won a bronze medal, won by Ni Nengah Widiasih, to finish 76th in the standings.

Therefore, this year’s contingent, which is the largest sent from Indonesia to date, should help achieve optimal results and secure a gold, a silver and a three bronze to clear the four decades of Indonesia without a Paralympic gold medal.

On Saturday, Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali held a virtual farewell ceremony for the contingent and encouraged them to do their best for the event.

Good luck, Indonesia! –

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