VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The 30th SEA Games in 2019 was officially opened by President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte at the Philippine Arena, Bulacan in the Philippines. The Southeast Asian Games which take place every two years involve 11 countries in Southeast Asian region.

The 2019 SEA Games takes place from 30 November to 11 December with 56 sports. The number is a record throughout history, breaking the implementation of the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta which competed 44 sports. More than 5600 athletes compete for 529 gold medals. At this SEA Games, Indonesia sent the second largest contingent after the Philippines consisting of 1.702 athletes.

Historically, Indonesia's first participation was in  the 1977 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nevertheless, Indonesia immediately entered the top-tier medal table. Even then, several times Indonesia won the title of overall winner of the SEA Games.

Records show that Indonesian contingent won the overall champion 10 times in 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, and finally in 2011 when the SEA Games was held in Indonesia.

Will Indonesia be able to win the overall champion again? Regarding the target for the 2019 SEA Games, President Joko Widodo in his remarks when releasing the Indonesian contingent at the Presidential Palace, Bogor, West Java, Wednesday (11/27) alluded to Indonesia's success when competing at home at the Asian Games in 2018. He is optimistic that Indonesian athletes can excel in the SEA Games this time and can win 2nd place with a target of 45-50 gold medals. This is not an easy job, but the President is optimistic that the Indonesian contingent can fulfill it. The target, if achieved, is expected to improve Indonesia's position in the final standings of the SEA Games compared to the SEA Games two years ago.

A number of sports are expected to become gold sources for Indonesian contingents. Those who have the opportunity to gain gold include athletics, swimming, bicycles, surfing, ice skating, triathlons, and badminton.

The 2019 SEA Games have begun. The Indonesian people hope that Indonesian athletes can achieve or exceed the medal target that has been declared.