Jakarta – A glittering ceremony at the North Sumatra Stadium in Deli Serdang on Friday night marked the end of the 21st National Games (PON), but the festivities were too late and too little to make up for the controversies that have marred the quadrennial sporting event.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's failure to officially close the PON only added insult to injury to the two-week games billed as the primary platform for national sporting talent who aspire to go international. The President was said to have skipped the trip to Medan to attend the wedding reception of former East Java governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa's son in Surabaya.
Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo said the President had not been scheduled to close the PON. But whatever the excuse, the administering of the games, held in North Sumatra and Aceh for the first time, was fraught with irregularities both in and out of the competition arena.
Poor infrastructure, evident in unfinished facilities in and around the sports venues, was the most common complaint from athletes and officials. The North Sumatra Stadium was not 100 percent ready for the closing ceremony, with construction work accelerated a few days before the event.
It was so sad to see the videos posted on social media of athletes wading through muddy roads to get to the stadium. Some athletes and officials also said changing rooms were dirty, bathrooms were unusable and courts were dusty and slippery, which they said made training and competing dangerous.
On the field, the PON, which should have provided talent from all over the country with a stage on which to display their achievements, instead showcased violations of sportsmanship, and acts of violence and vandalism, which run counter to the core values all athletes are responsible for promoting.
The quarterfinal match in men's soccer, pitting host Aceh against Central Sulawesi in Banda Aceh last Saturday, was a case in point. The visitors were reduced to 10 men after their defender, M. Rizki Saputra, knocked down the referee, Eko Agus Sugih, in protest at his questionable decision to award the home team a penalty.
It was later learned that Eko was not the official originally assigned to referee the match. Central Sulawesi team manager Susik SKM said he was informed that Achmad Hafid Hilmi would adjudicate the game.
At 1-1 in extra time, Central Sulawesi opted to discontinue the match, allowing Aceh to advance to the semifinals. Indonesia Soccer Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir promised to investigate the humiliating incident and punish those responsible for the chaos.
The embarrassing match in Banda Aceh came just after the national team, featuring naturalized players, sprang surprises in the World Cup qualification stage by holding regular World Cup finalists Saudi Arabia and Australia to draws.
Now that the games are over, the challenge for both the government and sports federations is to restore the PON as a prestigious event, where regional talent not only compete for medals, or cash bonuses, but also uphold sportsmanship. Winning medals is just a result of the process, in which they are taught about discipline, hard work and respect for others.
The trillions of rupiah of taxpayers' money spent on every PON will be a waste if our athletes fail to adhere to those basic values.
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2024/09/21/valuing-the-national-games.htm