A few weeks after the Tokyo Olympics, it is now the turn of the Tokyo Paralympic event to begin. The sports competition for special-needs athletes starts in the same arena as the Tokyo Olympics, Tuesday (24/8/2021).

At the Olympics' opening, athletes from various countries held a defile parade to enter the stadium arena. Indonesia stands out by showing off a variety of traditional clothing.

The uniform worn by the Indonesian team was inspired by several modified traditional clothes. Traditional clothes from Sumatra, Bali, Kalimantan, and Papua represent the beauty and diversity of Indonesian clothing.

The Indonesian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) revealed that the Indonesian contingent's shirt was designed by a designer from Solo named Rory Wardana Poesponingrat. Rory raised the theme "Ratna Putu Manikam", which means the name of a collection of sparkling gems to be embodied in traditional regional clothing.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by RORY WARDANA POESPONINGRAT (@rory_wardana)

Para-shooting athlete Hanik Puji Astuti and para-athlete athlete Jaenal Aripin were honored to be the Indonesian flag bearers in the parade. Each wore traditional Sumatran and Balinese clothes and was accompanied by Ajeng Widha Paramitha and Purwo Adi Sanyoto.

The modification of the traditional Sumatran dress worn by Astuti used a red color made of velvet cloth combined with a red songket from the island of Sumatra. The combination of white thread and headband made the traditional clothes seemed simple and not too heavy.

Aripin used a modified dress from Bali with a white Balinese udeng. The men's shirt was made of red jaguar cloth with gold embroidery ornaments and covered Prada cloth in red and white.

Paramitha wore clothes that were modified from Kalimantan. This shirt used a red color made of jaguar motif fabric with details of Borneo squid and was decorated with beads. The headband, in addition, used imitation Engga feathers.

Sanyoto's clothes were modifications from the Papua region. The design used red velvet as a top with a necklace made of imitation wild boar fangs. The crown was made of faux cassowary fur and shell.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rima Ferdianto (@rimaferdianto)

Another Indonesian paralympic team lined up behind the flag bearers. They wore jackets that were dominated by red which was also the result of Wardana's design. The national emblem of Garuda Pancasila was made of thick brass, which is pinned on the upper right chest. The paralympic logo is embroidered on the upper left side of the chest. In contrast, the back was embroidered with the national map of Indonesia.

Members of the Indonesian contingent who took part in the defile lineup included Deputy Chef de Mission Naek Parulian Washington, Deputy Secretary-General of the Indonesian NPC Rima Ferdianto, Andar Perdana Widiastono (CLO). Then there were the athletes: Saptoyogo Purnomo, Setiyo Budi Hartanto, Karisma Evi Tiarani, Famine, Putri Aulia, Elvin Elhudia Sesa, Bolo Triyanto (shooters), Muhamad Nurachman (badminton coach), Slamet Djauhari (para-swimming official), and Irfan Dwi Nurfianto (badminton official).

The Paralympic Games for Persons with Disabilities were also postponed for a year along with the Olympics. The Games will last until September 5, with 4,400 athletes from 162 contingents worldwide, including one refugee team. They will compete for 539 gold medals from 22 sports.

 

 

 

 

 

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Indonesian Optimism

Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia Zainudin Amali is optimistic that Indonesia will achieve maximum results at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. This belief is justified because the Red and White squad have made long preparations during their training center in Solo, Central Java.

Indonesia sent 23 athletes to participate in seven sports: badminton, athletics, swimming, table tennis, shooting, powerlifting, and cycling. This number is far more than when Indonesia sent paralympic athletes to Rio 2016, nine people.

Although optimistic, there are no ambitious targets, especially about medals. This is to remove the burden on the athletes who will compete—mainly reflecting on the results of the last Olympics, where many excellent athletes did not get satisfactory results.

The following is a list of Indonesian athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics:

1. Karisma Evi Tiarani - athletics

2. Putri Aulia - athletics

3. Elvin Elhudia Sesa - athletics

4. Saptoyogo Purnomo - athletics

5. Famini - athletics

6. Setiyo Budi Hartanto - athletic sport

7. Jaenal Aripin - athletic sport

8. Leani Ratri Oktila - badminton

9. Khalimatus Sa'diyah - badminton sport

10. Fredy Setiawan - badminton sport

11. Hary Susanto - badminton sport

12. Dheva Anrimusthi - badminton

13. Ukun Rukaendi - badminton sport

14. Suryo Nugroho - badminton sport

15. Dian David Mickael Jacobs - table tennis

16. Great Comet - table tennis sport

17. Adyos Astan - table tennis

18. Syuci Indriani - swimming sport

19. Jendi Pangabean - swimming sport

20. Hanik Puji Astuti - shooting sport

21. Bolo Triyanto - shooting sport

22. Ni Nengah Widiasih - powerlifting sport

23. Muhammad Fadli Imammuddin - racing sport.