THE parade of the Indonesian contingent that won medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday (15/8) morning was lively. At the four-yearly world sporting event, Indonesia, which included 29 athletes, finished in 39th place in the final medal standings after winning two gold medals and one bronze medal.
Indonesia’s two golds, the first to be born outside the badminton sport, were presented by Veddriq Leonardo from the speed climbing category and Rizki Juniansyah from the 73 kg weightlifting class. Meanwhile, one bronze, which is Indonesia’s first medal in Paris, was presented by women’s singles badminton athlete Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
The procession started from the Kemenpora Office, Senayan, using an open-top bus carrying athletes and their entourage starting at around 07.30 WIB. The group, which was released by the Minister of Youth and Sports Dito Ariotedjo, then headed to Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Bundaran Hotel Indonesia (HI), and along Jalan MH Thamrin with the finish line at the Merdeka Palace at around 08.30 to fulfill the invitation of President Joko Widodo who immediately gave a bonus.
“Today, together we will accompany the 2024 Paris Olympics contingent to the State Palace, where at 08.30, God willing, they will be received by the President in the courtyard of the State Palace,” said Dito in his speech when he was about to send off the athletes to the State Palace, Thursday.
“And we are doing this at the same time as the route from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to the State Palace using open-topped buses as well as a champion parade so that the champion spirit and motivation to carve out world history carried out by these young athletes can spread throughout society,” he added.
During the parade, the athletes were seen waving and giving warm smiles to the residents who flocked to capture their moments. Residents who watched the champion parade were filled with many drivers who were going to work honking their vehicle horns to enliven the parade event.
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Office workers on the roadside, sidewalks, and even bus stops also did not want to miss this moment. Many of them congratulated the medals won and also did not forget to express their gratitude to the athletes who fought to make Indonesia’s name famous in the world.
In addition to the three medal-winning athletes, the group that followed the champion parade was also filled with the coaches of the three athletes, namely Hendra Basir from rock climbing, Triyatno from weightlifting, and Herli Djaenudin from women’s singles badminton. The families of the gold medal winners were also not left behind.
Veddriq’s family who attended were his father Sumaryanto, his mother Rosita, and his two younger siblings Siyolita Equada and Panca Niqita Maura. Meanwhile, Rizki’s family who also attended were his father Mohamad Yasin and his mother Yeni Rohaeni.
Several athletes who competed in the Paris Olympics also attended. Among them were three rock climbers Rahmad Adi Mulyono, Rajiah Salsabillah, and Desak Made Rita, shooting athlete Fathur Gustafian, and gymnastics athlete Rifda Irfanaluthfi.
Then there were coaches and officials present such as the Chairperson of Rock Climbing Yenni Wahid, Chairperson of Persani Ita Yuliati Irawan, physical climbing coach Rachmat Sofyan, gymnastics coach Eva, weightlifting coach M. Rusli, Erwin, and Herdoyo. (Ant/Z-2)
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