INDONESIA is increasingly establishing itself as a new force in the world of surfing on the international stage. After successfully qualifying the nation’s proud surfing athlete, Rio Waida, to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics, now, the Indonesian surfing team, with full support from the Indonesian Surfing Association (PB PSOI) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), is preparing to take part in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
In the National Working Meeting (Rakernas) of PB PSOI, which was held online, 26-27 August 2024, PB PSOI General Chairperson Pandu Sjahrir expressed his pride in the rapid development of surfing in Indonesia.
“At the Asian level, Indonesia has successfully secured two places, one each for the men’s and women’s categories, at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. This opens up a great opportunity for Indonesian surfing athletes to continue to make achievements and bring the nation’s name to the Asian stage,” Pandu said, Tuesday (8/27).
Pandu explained that surfing or wave surfing continues to show its development in Indonesia, until it became an official sport that was competed in the 21st National Sports Week (PON) Aceh-North Sumatra 2024.
The inclusion of surfing in PON can be used as a preparation for the 2026 Asian Games, when PSOI itself is targeting 1 gold medal.
“The inclusion of surfing in PON also marks the increasing recognition of this sport on the national stage,” he added.
Also read: Failed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Rio Waida: Like Numb
In addition, Pandu also highlighted the achievements of one of Indonesia’s proud athletes, Rio Waida, who consistently appeared in the Olympics twice in a row. According to him, this is an extraordinary achievement and inspires the younger generation.
“Rio’s consistency in competing at the international level makes him one of the new stars in the world of surfing, and his success is an inspiration for the young generation in Indonesia,” Pandu emphasized.
In addition, Pandu said that surfing also received special attention from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which made it one of the mainstay sports in the elite athlete development program.
“This step shows the government’s seriousness in encouraging the development of surfing to continue to make achievements at the international level,” he concluded. (Z-1)
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