Governor Anies Baswedan paid a visit to Jayapura, the capital of Papua, to meet and thank members of Jakarta’s contingent participating in
the 20th National Sports Week (PON) being held in Indonesia’s eastern most province.
Baswedan arrived at Sentani Airport on Monday morning and met with several officials and athletes of Jakarta’s archery and sepak takraw teams that had prepped to fly home after competing in the multisport event.
“Insya Allah (God Willing), this will become a foothold to gain better achievements in future,” the governor wrote on his official Instagram account @aniesbaswedan that ANTARA quoted on Monday.
At his meeting with the athletes and officials, Baswedan thanked them for having fought for the glory of the capital city’s contingent. “Please bring stories and experiences to become lessons for all,” he affirmed, adding that he attentively monitored Jakarta’s athletes during the stages of preparations for and during the competitions in the Papua games.
For their high fighting spirit, he thanked all athletes and officials on behalf of the Jakartans.
As of October 10, 2021, at 9:13 p.m. local time, Jakarta had pocketed 72 gold medals, 58 silver medals, and 71 bronze medals. It ranked third in the medal tally behind West Java and East Java.
The Papua PON is being held in Jayapura City and the districts of Jayapura, Mimika, and Merauke from October 2 to October 15, 2021.
At least 6,400 athletes and 3,500 officials from 34 provinces across Indonesia are reportedly participating in the PON featuring 37 sports branches.
Prior to the departure of Jakarta’s contingent to this 20th PON, the Indonesian Sports Council (KONI)-Jakarta office had set a target of winning the Papua games with 171 gold medals.
According to ANTARA’s earlier report, Indonesia’s National Police had confirmed that the security situation remained conductive in four different clusters of Papua’s PON National Games.
According to National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Rusdi Hartono, the police had launched Operation “Deraku Cartenz 2021” to maintain and ensure the safety of the event.
According to Hartono, the operation involves a joint team of police and military personnel as well as members of public order agencies to secure sports venues and other important places during the convening of PON.
“May the Papua games proceed smoothly and peacefully,” he remarked, adding that the event was expected to contribute to boosting Indonesia’s achievements in sports.
Source: Antara News