Indonesia more than doubled its 16 gold medals target at the recently concluded 2018 Asian Games with a final result of 33. That has led to high expectations for the country’s para athletes, who have a slightly higher gold medal target to beat in the upcoming 2018 Asian Para Games.
“The target is 19 gold medals, which should rank us seventh overall. But, the hope is we will be inspired to follow in the footsteps of Indonesian athletes at the Asian Games by maybe breaking into the top five,” Indonesian Asian Para Games Organizing Committee (Inapgoc) Secretary Bayu Rahardian told reporters yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
Unlike the 2018 Asian Games, which were co-hosted by Jakarta and Palembang, the 2018 Asian Para Games will only take place in the Indonesian capital. The Para Games will see around 2,800 disabled athletes from 42 Asian countries competing in 18 sports.
The 2018 Asian Para Games will go from October 6-13.
One Indonesian para athlete with high hopes to win gold for her country is Balinese powerlifter Ni Nengah Widiasih, bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and double gold medalist at the 2017 ASEAN Para Games.
Check out our profile on Widiasih’s on Coconuts TV on iflix, a documentary series that explores untold wondrous stories throughout Southeast Asia. You can watch the entire Coconuts TV on iflix series, exclusively on iflix, here.
