Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali held a meeting with the Indonesian Esports Central Board (PBESI) on Friday to discuss preparations for the Cambodia SEA Games, which will take place from May 5–17, 2023.

The meeting at Graha Pemuda Senayan, Jakarta, was attended by the operational head of PBESI Bambang Sunarwibowo and PBESI staff as well as the assistant deputy for mainstay athletes Surono and a member of the review team Del Asri.

The meeting emphasized maximal efforts to make up for the projected loss of 37 gold medals for the Indonesian contingent compared to the previous SEA Games since host Cambodia will not hold several events in this year’s edition.

“We may lose 37 gold medals. Thus, we must make maximum efforts to look for events and sports that can cover the loss,” Amali said, according to information posted on the ministry’s official website.

Based on the results of the recent international championship in Bali and the consistency so far, Esports is one of the sports that are projected to bag medals and help cover the potential loss of gold medals, he added.

“I convey gratitude to PBESI for the recent achievements in Bali. This is the first sports branch that I invited, and will be followed by other sports, as recommended by the review team in order to look for the potentials to cover the gold (medals) that will probably be lost,” he remarked.

During Friday’s meeting, he also instructed Surono to immediately prepare and fulfill the needs of sports branches, including PBESI.

Meanwhile, Sunarwibowo expressed his side’s readiness to uphold the trust that has been placed in PBESI. He affirmed that the target for the Cambodia SEA Games has been enhanced.

PBESI is targeting to bag 5 gold medals from 10 events at the Cambodia SEA Games, he informed.

Source: Antara News