PON XX will be held in Papua, at the end of 2021. For the first time, this biggest sporting event will be held in eastern Indonesia. The success of PON is the main task of the committee and KONI Papua. The goal is not only to win as many medals as possible, but also to unite audiences throughout Indonesia and to make Indonesian citizens stronger.
In the past, when they heard the name Papua, some people immediately imagined an island that was still full of virgin forests and far from civilized. In fact, the Earth of Cendrawasih is very modern and as advanced as Surabaya or Bandung. Especially when Papua was trusted to be the organizer of PON. This shows that there are many sports facilities and adequate infrastructure in Papua.
The success of PON XX is a big homework for KONI Papua and the entire committee. Don’t let this event fail, because it will embarrass them. Moreover, this is the first time a large sports competition such as PON has been held on Cendrawasih Earth. Kemenpora also helps to make the 20th national sports week in Papua a success.
Chandra Bakti, Acting Deputy for the improvement of sports achievements of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, stated that the XX PON in Papua is an institution’s priority program that must be jointly successful. There are 3 criteria for a successful event. First, achievement success. More and more athletes have broken national records and can make their province proud, by winning gold medals.
Chandra continued, the second is administrative success, which means that the accountability of PON XX is transparent and can be seen by the public. Information about this 4-year sporting event can also be accessed by all Indonesian citizens, both in Indonesia and abroad.
While the third success is the success of the community’s economy. In that sense, the PON event could be an important moment for the people on Earth of Cendrawasih. They can sell food and drinks to hundreds of match-goers, even thousands of people. PON is a way for their economy to bounce back, after a year of being hit by the pandemic.
The success of PON is very important, because it will have a positive impact on the Indonesian people. People are very fond of sporting events, and they support their favorite athletes. They will be compact when watching, and talk about it after the game is over. This cohesiveness will erase the hostility between the camps that occurred after the election 2 years ago.
Solidarity is very important because to build the country, all Indonesian citizens must come together. When everyone works hand in hand, the government program will run smoothly, because it is implemented by all the people in a compact manner. Remember the old adage “united we stand, divorced we fall.”
In addition, PON will have an impact on the resilience of Indonesian citizens, especially youth. They will be inspired by the mental strength of the athletes, and determined to keep going and not be weepy easily. If the youths are psychologically strong, then they will have a steel mentality and will not give up easily.
This resilience is very necessary because to develop Indonesia after a pandemic, it must be carried out by mentally strong youth. Do not let them just be good at deleting and have a mental temper. However, when invited to advance the country, he immediately ran helter-skelter.
PON also teaches about the meaning of sportsmanship. When an athlete loses, he takes it gracefully. Likewise with civilians. Should be more sportsmanship in dealing with everything, and not clumsy and even take the law into their own hands.
The success of PON must be carried out by all organizing committees. PON must be successful in order to have a positive impact in all fields. Starting from the improving economy of the Papuan people, to the psychological side of the community. They will be taught sportsmanship, toughness, and not to give up easily by athletes who compete in PON XX Papua.
) * The author is a contributor to the Cikini Press Circle and Students