Indonesia eyes first top-10 medals finish

JAKARTA: Rags-to-riches teenage sprinter Lalu Zohri has given Indonesia an unexpected confidence boost as the Asian Games hosts look to pull off their first top-10 medals finish in decades.

Zohri, 18, won the hearts of Indonesians last month with a shock 100-metres victory over two favoured American rivals at the world junior championships in Finland. It was the first medal for an Indonesian athlete at the under-20 tournament and capped a heady rise for Zohri, who was raised in a bamboo shack and trained barefoot on the beach as a youngster.

Now, Zohri is facing his biggest test as he competes against a field of older and faster athletes at the world’s second-largest multi-sports event. “My goal is to give my best for Indonesia,” Zohri, who clocked 10.18sec to win world gold, said after a training session in Jakarta. “But I’m not targeting a medal in the 100 metres.” Still, his unlikely rise has given Indonesia a glimmer of hope that it too can manage a surprise showing — and overcome a history of middling performances at international tournaments. Badminton, weightlifting, Indonesian martial art pencak silat and even paragliding are all potential medal sports for the hosts at the August 18-September 2 Games in Jakarta and Palembang.

Despite a population of more than 260 million, Indonesia frequently trails smaller Southeast Asian nations like Malaysia and Thailand at the Asian Games. Indonesia has ranked no better than 13th at the past four Asiads and last placed in the top 10 in 1990. They were 17th at the 2014 Games in Incheon. Although the Asian Games allow the host nation to tailor the sporting programme to suit its strengths, some remain sceptical that Indonesia can finish in the top 10. “Last year we had a very poor performance at the Southeast Asian Games with the same athletes, so I think it is really difficult to achieve,” sports analyst Fritz Simanjuntak told AFP. The country ranked fifth at the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur last year behind hosts Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.