Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali underlined that Indonesiaparticipating in the regional sporting event amid the COVID-19 shows a sign of friendshipwith other Southeast Asian countries.
He said this is the first time Indonesia has sentits contingent to the SEA Games using a new paradigm on fostering nationalsports achievements.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo previously asked for atotal review of the ecosystem for fostering national sports achievements.
Amali added that the number of this contingent is almost 50 percent of that to the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines in 2019.
The athletes have been chosen based on achievements, trackrecords and other considerations determined by a team consisting of experts andrepresentatives of the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) and theIndonesian Olympic Committee, the official said.
The event, themed “For a Stronger South East Asia”, will beheld in Hanoi and 11 neighbouring provinces and cities from May 12 to 23.
Featuring 40 sports with 526 events, it is expected toattract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated forlate 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic./.