VP Jusuf Kalla: China will possibly emerge as the overall champion in the upcoming Asian Games.
Jakarta – While the opening of the 2018 Asian Games is less than a year away, news broke that at least 300 journalists from China will come to cover the event in Indonesia. The 300 Chinese journalists have so far registered with the event organizer. This number excludes their broadcast technicians.
The number of Chinese journalists will be the biggest among other countries’ journalists planning to report the sports event in Jakarta and Palembang in South Sumatra, which will take place from 18 August to 2 September 2018. This is according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla who spoke to reporters at his office after his talks with visiting Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu Yandong as reported by Antaranews.com.
“China wishes to show its supremacy in sports, and it could be certain or possible, that the country would emerge as the overall champion (at the Games). It was Japan in the past, and now China is everywhere, you know,” Jusuf Kalla said.
Understandably, the Vice President said, China had requested a space of 1,000 square meters at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) so that Chinese journalists could conduct live broadcast of the two-week Asian Games event. JCC is located next to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and the Senayan Sports Center, both in South Jakarta.
An estimated 9,000 athletes from the 45 countries will compete in Jakarta and Palembang. China and Indonesia will be among the 45 nations that will participate in 40 types of sports and games.
All preparations for the sports event are on track, according to the Coordinating Human Development and Cultural Minister Puan Maharani who talked to the press in the presence of visiting President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah last month.
Indonesia has also previously hosted the Asian Games in 1962. Held every four years since 1951, the previous Asian Games was held in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea.
