Sports officials remain plagued by uncertainty ahead of the 2025 SEA Games.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The process of determining the Indonesian contingent for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand has yet to be completed, and the selection of athletes remains potentially dynamic. The Ministry of Youth and Sports explains that the review team still needs to carefully analyze the results of the assessment to ensure that the medal targets are met. As a result, the sports branches are still plagued by uncertainty with the event just a month away.

The Deputy for Sports Achievement Improvement of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Surono, stated that the review process of a total of 52 sports branches was actually completed on October 31. This final review involved a team of experts, sports practitioners, as well as representatives from the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) and the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI).

However, the process of determining the Indonesian contingent for the SEA Games from December 9 to 20, 2025, is not yet complete. This is because the review team still needs to conduct an analysis, particularly to determine the medal potential in team sports and martial arts. After the analysis, the review team will hold a meeting with the Ministry of Youth and Sports next week and make a final determination at the plenary meeting.

"That is where (the plenary meeting) the exact number of the established target and how many medals will be announced, it will be evident there," said Surono at a press conference in the media room of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Jakarta, Thursday (6/11/2025).

In September, the review team had actually completed its task by evaluating 52 sports branches projected to participate in the 2025 SEA Games. However, compared to the participation in previous multi-sport events, this review was conducted repeatedly. According to Surono, this is part of the effort to ensure the medal potential of each sport branch.

Moreover, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has set a target of at least maintaining the third position in the final medal standings. To achieve this position, Surono stated that Indonesia must secure at least 13.84 percent to 15.90 percent of the gold medals from a total of 577 medals contested. This means that Indonesia needs more than 79 gold medals.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's current medal potential stands at 78 gold medals. This figure comes from sports that won 46 gold medals at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games and 32 gold medals from newly re-emerged sports at the 2025 Thailand SEA Games. These new gold medal potentials include archery, canoeing, dragon boat racing, and rowing.

However, when asked about the criteria for determining the sports and athletes who will participate in the SEA Games, Surono stated that the measure is the potential for medal acquisition, regardless of the type of medal. In fact, only gold medals play a significant role in determining the ranking positions.

On the other hand, the analysis conducted by this review team also has the potential to make the selection of sports and athletes more dynamic. Surono claimed that several athletes' names were already on the long list or entry by number for the SEA Games.

Referring to the SEA Games timeline, the entry by number deadline was the end of June. Indonesia registered 1,548 athletes. The entry by name deadline, or shortlist, was September 1. "The longlist could be reduced or increased, depending on the analysis results," Surono said.

In fact, the sports branches have already determined the athletes who will compete in the upcoming SEA Games. Badminton, for example, is sending 10 male and 10 female athletes. Most of the athletes, especially in the men's sector, are young players and first-timers in the multi-sport event.

The Central Board of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PP PBSI) has decided to provide opportunities for young players to gain experience and feel the pressure of multi-sport events. This decision was made as part of a long-term regeneration program.

A similar approach was applied to another leading sport, rock climbing, which fielded a total of 18 athletes across three disciplines: speed, lead, and bouldering. Most of them were young athletes who had never experienced the atmosphere of a multi-sport event.

However, the analysis of the review team may not necessarily align with the decision of the sport. If climbing, for instance, is allowed to send a combination of senior and junior players because the chances of winning medals are still considered significant even without deploying the main squad, the situation is different for badminton.

"In badminton itself, there was also very significant progress during the review yesterday, namely that they will also field their best athletes. Because Malaysia-Thailand turns out to have the best squad as well," said Surono.

"Therefore, it has now been agreed between the review team and PBSI that there will be several substitutions of the best players included. This is currently in the process of proposing changes, which will be made technically from the central management (PB) directly to KOI, and we are also overseeing the administrative process from both PB and KOI to be able to register again with the committee in Bangkok," he stated.

Other prominent sports, such as weightlifting, are also still in a state of uncertainty. They have proposed 12 athletes who are the result of national selection. The manager of the Indonesian weightlifting team, Pura Darmawan, stated that the list of 12 athletes has been submitted for review at the end of August 2025.

After that, his team underwent a review again last week. "We hope there will be no changes for the athletes who are departing," said Pura.

Athletics is also still awaiting the results of the review from the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Athletics Association (PB PASI), Tigor Tanjung, stated that the list of athletes cannot yet be published as it is still under review by the Ministry.