Jakarta The executive board of the Indonesian Beach Handball Association (PB ABTI) will send the national team for the 2022 Southeast Asian Beach Handball Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, which will be held from November 15–19, 2022.
The participation in the event will be a part of Indonesia’s preparations for the 2023 Beach Handball World Championships and the Asian Beach Handball Championship, PB ABTI chairperson Zulfydar Zaidar Mochtar informed in a statement issued on Saturday.
“The ASEAN handball championship is participated by five countries and can be a tryout event for the Indonesian beach handball team,” he said during the Jakarta Handball Festival here on Friday.
“The expectation is that when they participate in the Asian and world championships, they can compete with their opponents,” he added.
The national beach handball team underwent a relatively short preparation for the 2022 Southeast Asian Beach Handball Championship. In fact, most of the athletes are indoor handball players who trained in Sentul, Bogor, West Java.
Mochtar said he expects support from the government, Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI), and Indonesian Olympics Committee (KOI) for the athletes’ training.
This is because all athletes who compete overseas not only represent themselves and their organization, but also their country and nation, he added.
“Countries that will deploy their athletes for the ASEAN championship comprise Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, and host Thailand,” he informed.
“This is because this iteration of the ASEAN handball championship will serve as a benchmark for the 2025 SEA Games planned to be held in Thailand,” he said.
Due to minimal preparation on account of budget limitations, the Indonesian beach handball team will leave for Thailand on November 13 under the guidance of coach Abdul Kadir.
According to Mochtar, beach handball should have been featured in the National Sports Week (PON) in addition to indoor handball to prepare the athletes for world championships.
Source: ANTARA News