REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Youth and Sports Ministry has targeted Indonesia to finish in the top five at the Asian Para Games 2018. It will be held in Jakarta and Palembang from Oct 6 to 13.

"Actually, Mr. Joko Widodo (the Indonesian President) only wants Indonesia to secure a top seven spot, but we believe we will be able to finish in top five rather than top seven," Secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry Gatot S Dewa Broto said here on Tuesday.

Indonesia ranked ninth in the Asian Para Games 2014 held in Incheon, South Korea. "To be sure, we have our own estimate and strategy. This is part of our sport intelligence. Similar to the recently concluded Asian Games, we have our own calculations," he noted.

The calculation and strategy covered sports that the host contingent is expected to dominate, he added. "There are several sports at the Asian Para Games 2018 that we dominate. But it is a secret. We will reveal them two weeks before the event," he remarked.

The Asian Para Games is expected to bring together 2.8 thousand athletes and 1.8 thousand officials from 41 National Paralympic Committee (NPC) member countries. They will compete in 18 sports, including basketball, volleyball, fencing, table tennis, swimming, shooting, judo, cycling, weightlifting, bowling, badminton, handball, and tennis.

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani has called on the Indonesian nation to ensure the success of the Asian Para Games 2018. "The Asian Games has ended. We will soon host the Asian Para Games 2018. We call on the entire nation to make the Asian Para Games 2018 a success," she revealed here on Monday.

The Asian Para Games 2018 will be preceded by a torch relay in the same way as the Asian Games 2018, she added. "Similar to the Asian Games, the Asian Para Games will also be preceded by a torch relay starting on Sept 5, 2018. But the Asian Para Games' torch will be relayed only in eight cities," she explained.

The Asian Para Games' torch relay will start with the lighting of the torch from the Mrapen eternal flame in Grobogan district, Central Java. The torch will later be taken to Solo (Central Java), Ternate (North Maluku), Makassar (South Sulawesi), and several other cities in the country, she pointed out.

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