Indonesia faces concerns ahead of the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Although the budget for the departure of the contingent has increased sixfold, uncertainty still looms over Indonesia for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. Less than two months before the SEA Games, the government has yet to determine the sports that will compete, the number of athletes for each sport who will depart, and the medal acquisition targets. There is also no certainty regarding the implementation of the coaching program that determines the status of each sporting event in which Indonesia participates.

Minister of Youth and Sports Erick Thohir announced that the budget for the departure of the Indonesian contingent to the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand has increased from IDR 10 billion to IDR 60 billion. This increase, according to Erick, has been approved by President Prabowo Subianto and Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa.

The increase in the budget will have implications for the addition of the number of athletes sent to Thailand. From IDR 10 billion, which can only finance the departure of 120 athletes, Erick estimates that IDR 60 billion could be used to send 700-800 athletes.

"Athletes that can be sent may number between 700-800, depending on the results of the joint evaluation. However, of course, we from the government, the President, and everyone present here, must have a shared commitment that the athletes sent must truly be those prioritized and capable of winning medals," said Erick at a press conference at the Ministry of Youth and Sports office in Jakarta, Thursday (16/10/2025).

When asked about the commitment to send the majority of young athletes, Erick stated that he would not differentiate treatment towards athletes. As long as there is a chance to win medals, Erick does not concern himself with whether the athlete is a senior or still a young athlete.

And we want to maintain this target, so we can at least reach the top 3 ranking again. But in today's reality, that's not possible.

To that end, Erick stated, opportunities must be fully opened for young athletes who may have potential and senior athletes who still possess capabilities. Moreover, there is a target to be achieved in Thailand starting from December 9, 2025.

With a budget of Rp 60 billion and the potential to send up to 800 athletes, Erick aims for Indonesia to at least secure a third-place ranking again, as it did in the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam and the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia. However, Erick also assesses that this target is difficult to achieve due to the loss of 41 potential medals in the upcoming event in Thailand.

Currently, around 78 potential gold medals have been detected, while to secure a place among the top three, Indonesia must obtain at least 82 gold medals. To that end, Erick stated that he is inviting the administrators of the sports branches to convene and determine Indonesia's targets.

"Because of the trust placed in me by the President, I don't want to become a byword for him in the future. And we want this target to remain, at least to reach the top 3 ranking again. But the reality today is that it's not possible. This means we must work together to organize our targets as transparently as possible," said Erick.

However, behind the targets and challenges in achieving them, there remains uncertainty regarding which sports branches will be sent and which athletes will compete. Even favored sports such as weightlifting still have to await the final decision from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Weightlifting has proposed to send a maximum of 12 athletes to Thailand. According to the Secretary General of the Indonesian Weightlifting Association, Djoko Pramono, with the increase in budget, weightlifting should be able to send the maximum number of its athletes.

"With the increase in the budget, the hope is that the number of athletes sent can also be maximized. Especially when talking about the overall champion, weightlifting has a chance," said Djoko.

Not only the sports disciplines and the number of athletes, but the plans for regeneration and long-term development programs are also still unclear. In the last two editions, with the National Sports Grand Design (DBON) program, the SEA Games have never been the main priority or only an intermediate target. The main priority is the Olympics, a global multi-sport event.

DBON is a long-term coaching program, spanning at least from 2021 to 2045, with the goal of achieving a top-five finish in the Olympics. Through DBON, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has also designated 14 Olympic priority sports, including badminton, weightlifting, climbing, karate, wushu, shooting, and taekwondo. Additionally, there are cycling, athletics, swimming, rowing, artistic gymnastics, pencak silat, and archery.

With this paradigm, young athletes are prioritized for participation in the SEA Games. Even if there are senior athletes, their composition does not exceed that of the young athletes. In addition to having a significant chance of winning medals, these young athletes also have the potential to become successors to the senior athletes.

In the pursuit of achievements to regain a position among the top three, a paradigm that prioritizes young athletes may be contradictory. The primary focus on performance can lead to the sidelining of regeneration issues.

Moreover, Erick has not yet been able to determine what the implementation of his version of the long-term coaching program will look like. Erick hopes that the formulation of this implementation will be completed by March 2026.

According to the Chairman of PSSI, there needs to be prior consolidation among sports policy stakeholders in the country, such as KOI and KONI. Only after that can they collectively determine the role of each sporting event, from PON to the Olympics.

Clearly, Erick stated, the President wants to prioritize certain outstanding sports branches. Although 14 sports branches have already been selected for DBON, Erick believes that there still needs to be adjustments by implementing promotion and relegation. The aim is for the sports branches to compete with one another.