REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated that Indonesia has set a target to win at least 16 gold medals in the 2018 Asian Games, as it aimed to be included in the top 10 ranking. Kalla said the the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) had told President Joko Widodo that it aimed to be ranked in the top 10 list. 

"For this, we need to win at least 16 gold medals; otherwise, Indonesia's position would be excluded from the top 10," he noted, while giving directives to enhance performance in the Asian Games in Jakarta, on Thursday.

Kalla further stated that the achievements of medals and rankings are among the most important matters in preparing for the 2018 Asian Games.

"At the end of the day, people would not remember the opening ceremony, but our position in the Asian Games ranking," he added.

During the 14th Asian Games in 2014 held in Incheon, South Korea, Indonesia was placed 17th, with a total of 20 medals, including 4 gold, 5 silver, and 11 bronze medals.

Previously, a similar meeting was also held in the offices of the Indonesia Asian Games 2018 Organizing Committee (INASGOC) back in February.

A number of issues were discussed at the meeting, including the organization of a test event, as well as the renovation of the 2018 Asian Games venues in Jakarta and Palembang, for the improvement of the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium after the final game of the 2018 Presidential Cup.

Following the test event of the Asian Games, the vice president, who is also Executive Director of the 2018 Asian Games, remarked that the venue preparation for the games in Jakarta was 90 percent complete. 

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