Opening Asian Games 2018

The 2018 Asian Games have been running for less than a week.

For the home crowd celebrations can never come too early, 

as evinced (ditunjukkan) by the full support they have given their sporting heroes and heroines.

They are fighting for the nation’s pride.



Their enthusiasm has been palpable. (jelas terasakan)

They have thronged (berjejalan) to sports venues to cheer on the nation’s competitors, 

in both times of glory and agony (penderitaan). 

The Indonesian public seems aware that ... 

in high-level competitions like the Asian Games, the results can hinge (bergantung) on an athlete’s state of mind, 


regardless of all the training they have done to enhance their skills.


Playing on home soil can give an athlete a much-needed second wind. 

In many cases, it can help an athlete achieve the unthinkable.


We could debate his possible political motives, 

but the presence of President among the home crowd’s supporters is simply a show of responsibility, 

which many other heads of state have demonstrated previously, such as at the FIFA World Cup in Russia last month. 



The nation’s support appears to have paid off. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, - 

Indonesia had collected six gold, three silver and five bronze medals. 

The collection has already exceeded Indonesia’s achievement at the last Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, four years ago, 

but there is still a long way to go to achieve the pre-competition target of 16 gold medals,

which is needed to finish among the top 10.

The enthusiastic public reception of the long-awaited Games was visible 

at the packed Gelora Bung Karno Stadium  during the extravagant opening ceremony last Saturday, 

regardless of the complaints about the prices of the tickets, 

which many said were too expensive for most people.


On the downside, the Games organizers have been overwhelmed (kewalahan) in handling the ticketing system, 

much to the dismay (kecemasan) of supporters of the national squad.


Initially, the ticketing was handled online by KiosTix. 

But later, complaints started to mount over errors on its website, kiostix.com. 

Ticket buyers also slammed the organizers for the inefficient system, 

which forced them to redeem their e-tickets for paper tickets before entering sports venues. 

Ticketing was later taken over by blibli.com, 

a marketplace owned by the Djarum Group.



But the ticketing problems did not end there. 

On Wednesday, hundreds of people were disgruntled (tak puas) 

after finding out that the tickets for the badminton team finals sold at ticket booths near the venue had been sold out in a matter of minutes. 

To prevent any irregularities, as of Friday the organizers will sell all tickets online 

and conduct ID checks to make sure only ticket holders attend the events.


Hosting the world’s second biggest multisport event is easier said than done. 

Indonesia will need to continue to work tirelessly 

to cater (melayani) to the thousands of guests until closing day on Sept. 2. 

Hiccups will almost certain happen. 



But, as a show of respect for the hard-working athletes, 

let’s all make it work. 


Come on Indonesia, keep fighting for the success of the Games!



Root:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2018/08/23/keep-fighting-indonesia.html