SEA Games Thailand 2025: Fight First, Win Later

The bonus of Rp 1 billion promised by the government is indeed tempting and adds motivation. However, Indonesian athletes for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand should not be lulled into complacency. When they have fought to the best of their abilities, bonuses or other forms of appreciation will follow.

Long before President Prabowo Subianto promised a Rp 1 billion bonus to gold medalists at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, rock climber Antasyafi Robby Al Hilmi had anticipated the "danger" of the allure of financial rewards. This young Indonesian speed climber had an unpleasant experience when his focus was distracted by money.

Robby experienced this at the domestic event, the National Series 2 Bupati Cup IV Kutai Timur 2025, last October. On paper, Robby excelled over his 21 competitors in the final round. National training climbers who have repeatedly won gold at the Climbing World Cup and could be strong competitors to Robby, such as Kiromal Katibin or Nursamsa Raharjati, did not participate. Robby also has a record of consistently finishing under 5 seconds, which is sufficient to secure the gold medal.

However, Robby's journey in the competition came to an abrupt end in the quarterfinals. Robby lost control, slipped, and was declared a fall. His medal was lost.

"Because I felt that my chances of winning were high and I was very ambitious to win, I ended up losing. Moreover, at that time there was a cash prize for winning. Therefore, now I want to not care about money, bonuses, or anything else, and focus first on the competition," said Robby, who is part of the 18 Indonesian climbers at the SEA Games Thailand 2025.

Athletes are encouraged to think that their goal is the Olympics, with the SEA Games as a stepping stone.

The rock climbing competition is often unpredictable. Moreover, the margin for error is high as competitors race against time while challenging gravity. Climbers must remain fully focused in order to complete the race and finish as quickly as possible.

Robby believes that if the focus is on the competition, including managing the ambition to win, the best achievements in Thailand can be attained. Robby can also contribute medals to the Indonesian climbing team, which is targeting 2-3 gold medals. As a climbing team that has reached the elite level globally, Indonesia has a great opportunity to meet that target.

Meanwhile, Robby's mindset to focus first on the upcoming competition aligns with the principles emphasized by Hendra Basir, the coach of the Indonesian climbing team. Hendra understands that the opportunities for achieving accomplishments or economic prospects from the SEA Games are quite significant. Moreover, the interval between editions of the SEA Games is not long, as they are held every two years.

However, because the main goal set for climbing is the Olympics, Hendra encourages his mentees not to be "swayed" by the SEA Games, even though none of the current national climbing team athletes have ever participated in that event. Especially for the more senior athletes who have extensive experience competing at the Asian and world levels, Hendra urges them to focus on the primary objective.

The SEA Games are positioned as a stepping stone for young climbers like Robby to reach the next level, namely the Asian Games and the Olympics. "Athletes are indeed encouraged to think that their goal is the Olympics. The stepping stone is the SEA Games," said Hendra.

"So, when they compete in the SEA Games, they're not chasing cash bonuses or civil service appointments, or anything else. It all stems from this process," said the coach, who guided the Indonesian sport climbing team to qualify four athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympics and led Veddriq Leonardo to a gold medal there.

A bonus of Rp 1 billion was promised by President Prabowo during the release ceremony of the Indonesian contingent for the SEA Games in Thailand 2025 at the State Palace in Jakarta, Friday (5/12/2025).

President Prabowo believes that athletes compete not solely for the money. However, he believes that appreciation will help their careers.

Events such as the SEA Games do not provide cash prizes to the winners. Generally, it is the respective countries that award bonuses to the athletes, in the form of money or other incentives.

The granting of bonuses is often seen as a windfall for high-achieving athletes. Bonuses are also generally given to athletes to maintain their motivation.

This fantastic bonus promised by President Prabowo has increased from the previous SEA Games gold medalist bonus of Rp 500 million. This amount also matches the gold medalists in the doubles category, each of whom received Rp 1 billion at the Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang 2018.

On the other hand, despite promising significant bonuses, President Prabowo Subianto did not set specific targets for medals or rankings for the Indonesian contingent. Prabowo merely advised the athletes to give their best. "Because this is an event to uphold the honor of the entire Indonesian nation," he stated.

At the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, President Joko Widodo hopes that the Indonesian contingent can achieve better results than at the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games. In addition to requesting more gold medals than the 69 medals previously won, Joko Widodo also asked for an improvement in ranking from third place, aiming for either second place or overall champion.

In Thailand, Indonesia is reinforced by 1,021 athletes from 49 sports disciplines. This number is a result of adjustments from the previous total of 996 athletes from 48 disciplines. With a substantial contingent, the largest since the Jakarta-Palembang SEA Games with 1,053 athletes, Indonesia is targeted to achieve 80 gold medals.

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Erick Thohir, stated that Indonesia's gold medal target is 80-85 medals. This target is actually lower than the achievement in the previous edition of the SEA Games in Cambodia 2023, where Indonesia ranked third with 87 gold medals.

However, according to Erick Thohir, this target is merely a starting point to regain the third position. This target is considered the most realistic, given that Vietnam is the defending champion and Thailand, as the host, will compete for the overall championship. Moreover, Erick claims that Thailand is reinforced by a large contingent of around 1,800 athletes in pursuit of their ambition to be number one in front of their home crowd.

Indonesian athletes may be further motivated to achieve success with the promise of a bonus of Rp 1 billion. Although this enticing offer is appealing, they must remain focused on their efforts first. Because, once they have fought and achieved the best results, bonuses or any form of appreciation will undoubtedly follow.

Dear readers, Kompas Daily is opening a Letters to Athletes column, which contains opinions, encouragement, or comments regarding the performance of Indonesian athletes at the 2025 SEA Games Thailand. Send your short comments, a minimum of two sentences and a maximum of six sentences, by filling in the column below. We will publish selected comments in Kompas Daily during the 2025 SEA Games.