JABAR EKSPRES – Special Olympics Indonesia athletes began competing today, Sunday, in the largest quadrennial sporting event for athletes with special talents or intellectual disabilities, the Special Olympics World Summer Games (SOWSG), held in Berlin, Germany.
Some participants must first undergo the divisioning stage, where judges will assess the athletes’ abilities to determine which group they should compete in.
According to Head of Delegation Agus Sugiarto, several talented Indonesian athletes began competing today in a number of sports.
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“Today Sunday, badminton athletes will start the divisioning stage,” Agus said in a written statement received in Jakarta on Sunday.
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The committee estimates that there are 144 registered participants who will participate and 58 partner athletes will also participate.
They will play in five numbers, namely men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, unified doubles, unified mixed doubles.
Two Indonesian special talents are scheduled to compete on Sunday at Hall 1.2, Messe Berlin Complex.
The Indonesian contingent sent Naufal Dwi Kurnia for the men’s singles, and Ananias Ulin Pratiwi for the women’s singles. Meanwhile, the two partner athletes are Kristiyana Febriyanti and Alfonsus William. They practiced under the guidance of head coach Mardi Panjaitan.
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According to assistant badminton coach Sesaria Nisa Afifi, badminton athletes were exhausted after participating in the SOWSG opening ceremony which ended at midnight at Olympia Stadium on Saturday (17/6).
“However, this morning they are very enthusiastic,” said Sesaria.
During their stay in Berlin, the badminton players not only had the opportunity to try out the playing field, but also practiced with local players coached by former Indonesian badminton player Bram Fernardin.
In addition to badminton, the athletic athletes will also undergo a divisioning stage race. They will compete from Sunday to Wednesday (6/21).