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By APD writer Maverick
**JAKARTA, Feb. 10 (APD) ** — Indonesia holds the 2018 Asian Games test events that runs from Feb. 8 to 15, contending several spots, participated by several Asian countries, aimed at assessing the preparedness of local organizing committee to facilitate the sports event held once every four year for Asian countries and regions.
The test event was held capital city of Jakarta, part of Indonesia’s two cities designated to host the 18th Asian Games. The other city was capital of South Sumatra province, Palembang.
The initial sports contended in the test event was basketball, participated by teams from host country Indonesia, India, Timor Leste and Thailand.
The Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) initially expected 9 countries to take part in the test events which would contend matches in weight lifting, athletic, silat martial arts, taekwondo, boxing, basketball, archery and volleyball sports.
Besides assessing readiness of the organizing committee to hold the sports event, the test events were also aimed at testing national teams contending in those sports as well as venues facilitating the matches in the sports.
Among the assessed preparation for the organizer were the programs to pick athletes from the airport, hotels and hospitalities for the athletes and transportation to sports venues.
“Swift services to pick up the athletes, accommodating them in the hotels were among the essential parts for the success of Asiad organizing. We would asses them, if there were loopholes in their measures to address those tasks we would improve it. We still have times to the D Day for the improvement,” Indonesian Sports and Youths Minister Imam Nachrawi said.
The minister also said that the assessment also includes infrastructure and resources preparedness to serve the major sports event.
Renovation works on the existing sports venues and construction of new hospitality centers to accommodate athletes contending in upcoming Asiad have been carried out in Jakarta and Palembang sports complexes in the last several months with most of them have been completed at present.
Indonesia has prepared transportation systems of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Light Rapid Transit (LRT) whose projects were underway at preset, expected to be ready shortly before the Asiad commences in August this year.
The two modern transportation systems would be provided for the athletes and and the public, securing the inter-venue transportation during the international sports event that would run until early September.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has inaugurated the renovated Jakarta landmark stadium of Gelora Bung Karno (GBK), the 2018 Asiad host stadium mid last month.
The 2018 Asian Games would be the second for Indonesia to host the Asiad after 1962. Some 40 sports comprised of 462 events would be contend in the upcoming Asiad slated for August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, themed “Energy of Asia”.
More than 11,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries and regions were expected to take part in the 2018 Asian Games.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
