Boyolali, C Java (ANTARA) - A total of 1,279 athletes and officials arrived at Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Boyolali District, Central Java Province, on Tuesday to take part in the 11th ASEAN Para Games (APG). Upon their arrival, members of the Myanmar contingent, who were followed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Timor Leste contingents, were welcomed with a traditional peacock dance and Javanese gamelan (traditional musical instruments) performance.
The Laos contingent arrived on Monday (July 25, 2022), legal, compliance, and stakeholder relations manager at the airport, Gerrie Razzaq, informed. “The Brunei Darussalam contingent will arrive on Wednesday (July 27) at around 2:01 p.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB, UTC+7). According to the passenger data, the contingent will have 22 athletes," he said.
The Adi Soemarmo Airport and the Surakarta City Tourism Office collaborated in preparing the cultural performances to welcome the contingents.
At the airport, the athletes were identified by the Indonesian ASEAN Para Games Organizing Committee (INASPOC) officers and then escorted to their respective lodgings—which were assigned based on the sports they are competing in—with the help of 130 vehicles.
A number of hotels have been readied for the athletes and officials in Surakarta city, Central Java province, such as the Megaland Hotel Solo and Aston Hotel Solo (archery), Swiss-Bellin Saripetojo Hotel and Harris Hotel & Conventions Solo (athletics), as well as Lorin Solo Hotel (badminton).
Baca juga: pebulu tangkis Indonesia bidik enam emas APG meski tanpa Ratri
Baca juga: ASEAN Para Games bukti Indonesia peduli atlet difabel
Other lodgings include The Alana Solo (boccia), Lorin Dwangsa Solo Hotel (chess), Novotel Solo Hotel (cerebral palsy football), Solo Paragon Hotel (tennis and powerlifting), Sunan Solo Hotel (table tennis), Kusuma Sahid Prince Solo Hotel (basketball), Hotel Sahid Jaya Solo (goalball), and Grand HAP Hotel (judo).
Furthermore, the committee has also prepared The Royal Surakarta Heritage Hotel and Swiss-Bellin Gilingan Hotel for sitting volleyball athletes and officials, as well as Solia Zigna Laweyan Hotel for classifiers, who are experts in charge of determining the classification of an athlete's disability before competing.
Meanwhile, swimming athletes and officials will stay at Harris Hotel Semarang and Hotel Aruss Semarang, Semarang City, Central Java Province.
Surakarta City will serve as the main host for the implementation of the 11th APG from July 30 to August 6, 2022. It is estimated that a total of 1,800 athletes will take part in the event Meanwhile, Karanganyar District and Semarang City will host the sitting volleyball and swimming competitions, respectively.
