When talking about the land of Papua, it feels incomplete without mentioning the potential of their athletes. This is because, apart from having abundant natural wealth, Papua also has many qualified athletes. Two Papuan athletes who won silver medals in the Philippines prove it.
The first one is Agustinus Ngamar Mahuze, a javelin-throwing athlete. Then the second one is Amatus Somaghai, a short-distance runner. They are trained and assisted by the Executive Board of the Indonesian Athletics Association (PB PASI) and PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI).
The Athletes Underwent Intensive Preparation
Tigor M Tanjung, The General Secretary of PB PASI, said that the athletes represented the Indonesian contingent in Philippine Athletics Championships 2023. Furthermore, the competition is a part of the program between PB PASI and PTFI to develop young Papuan talents in athletics.
“This is a competition to showcase their ability so they can face more international competition in the future,” he explained.
Before competing in the Philippines, the athletes underwent eight months of preparation at the Mimika Sport Complex (MSC). They have not only participated in this competition once. However, this is the fifth time they have participated in the Philippines athletics competition in the past years.
Meanwhile, Tony Wenas, President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia, said the decentralized national training program had been running since April 2022. The training center is situated in Mimika, which is also the home to PT Freeport Indonesia. He congratulated the athletes on their achievements.
Wenas said he is very proud of the achievements of the young athletes from Papua who have competed and won medals in the Philippines. “PTFI’s support for the development of sports potential in Papua, including athletics, is part of our commitment to contribute to Indonesia,” he said.
Not surprisingly, PTFI fully supports athletes through this athlete decentralization program in Mimika. In the future, he hopes that the athletes from Papua will continue to show their potential to the maximum.
The Potential of Papuan as A Source of High-Achieving Athletes
Indonesia brought home two silver medals at the athletics competition in the Philippines on March 22-26, 2023. In the javelin throwing event, Agustinus Ngamar Mahuze scored the second-farthest throw. He records a throw with a distance of 61.12 meters.
Meanwhile, Amatus Somaghai won a medal in the men’s 100-meter race. His record is 11.06 seconds in the qualifying round. However, in the final round, he improved his record to 10.92 seconds and won a silver medal. The satisfying results of the two athletes must certainly be appreciated.
In fact, according to Muktar, Head coach of the National Athletics Training Center Mimika, this is not their first achievement. Muktar said that Mimika’s decentralized national training athletes have already been competing in competitions. They won a lot of medals on many international levels.
Certainly, they will continue to train to take part in more competitions. The coach will evaluate the potential of the young athletes from Mimika, Central Papua Province. Later, the athletes will become representatives of the Indonesian contingent at the 2023 SEA Games. It will be held in Cambodia in May.
The achievements of these young athletes are clear evidence that Papua has a high potential in sports. This is why people call the land of Papua a warehouse for national athletes in athletics and other sports, such as badminton, football, etc.
The potential of the Papuan as a source of high-achieving athletes seems to keep its legacy. So, no wonder many Papuan athletes have made regional, national, and international achievements.
