VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Sports Association for the Deaf (Porturin) has sent 52 athletes for the 2022 ASEAN Deaf Games, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from November 20 to 27, 2022.

The athlete will compete in three out of the four sports at the multi-sports event, namely athletics, badminton and futsal. No Indonesian athlete will compete in the fourth sport, which is bowling.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) has extended full support for the Indonesian contingent. The ministry's secretary, Gunawan Suswantoro, and deputy for sports culture, Raden Isnanta, officially sent off the Indonesian team from Plaza Kemenpora, Senayan, here on Friday.

"We hope the athletes competing in Malaysia can bring the good name of the Indonesian people and maintain the honor of the Indonesian people and raise the Red and White flag and sing the Indonesia Raya anthem," remarked Suswantoro.

He also advised all members of the Indonesian contingent to maintain good health and increase solidarity in order to get a victory later.

In addition, he advised the Indonesian contingent to prioritize sportsmanship.

"Indonesia must achieve victory; Indonesia must win. We are all proud," he remarked.

This year's event is the first edition of the ASEAN Deaf Games. The games were supposed to be held in 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, in November 2018, the ASEAN Deaf Sports Federation (ADSF) decided to cancel the tournament since the host was unable to fulfill the obligations and minimum requirements regarding the administration and management of the event.

Porturin is the parent sports organization for deaf athletes in Indonesia.

Previously, Porturin had helped deaf badminton athletes to compete in the Asia-Pacific Deaf Badminton Championships in Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand, on September 14–21. Indonesia bagged two gold medals in the tournament. (antaranews)