Retired North Sumatran boxer Samsul Anwar lights the flame for the 21st National Games (PON) at Baharoeddin Siregar Stadium in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, during the event’s opening ceremony on Sept. 9, 2024. Aceh and North Sumatra jointly hosted the 2024 installment of the national multisports event, which featured nearly 13,000 athletes. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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thletes and coaches are calling this year’s National Games (PON), which ended on Friday, the worst in history, following complaints over poor infrastructure and allegations of biased officiation.
Nearly 13,000 athletes from 38 provinces and the special territory of Nusantara gathered in Aceh and North Sumatra to compete across 65 sporting events from Sept. 9 to Friday.
But rather than the sporting achievements of the competing athletes, much of the attention was directed at unfinished facilities in and around the venues.
Videos posted on social media showed athletes walking through muddy roads to get to a stadium. Some competitors also complained that they had to walk over a water-filled pit on a wooden plank to reach the volleyball venue in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra.
Athletes and officials complained of dirty changing rooms, unusable bathrooms and dusty and slippery courts, which they said made training and competing dangerous.
Cindy Tiara Berliyan, a volleyball player representing Jakarta, said the dusty court caused her to have breathing difficulties and a higher heart rate during training.
West Java men’s volleyball coach Samsul Jais, meanwhile, complained that the team had to mop the courts before training to ensure their safety.
