Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali has said he would immediately begin working to prepare Indonesia to be the host of the Asean Para Games 2022, which will be held on July 20 to 31 in Solo, Central Java.

Indonesia was officially chosen as the host of the Asean Para Games 2022 on February 23, replacing Vietnam, which decided to withdraw and will only hold the SEA Games in May this year.

“I had reported to President Joko Widodo that Indonesia has been appointed as the host of Asean Para Games 2022 and he said, ‘take it’. Therefore, it was brave to take the (opportunity to host) even though (there are) only several months (left before the event),” Amali said here on Saturday.

He said the preparation time for the 2022 Asean Para Games was considered brief, with only five months until the games begin.

Amali said this means that the preparations need to be expedited, such as readying the athletes ahead of the event.

Amali said his team will first hold a coordination meeting with National Paralympic Committee (NPC Indonesia) chairman Senny Marbun and the Mayor of Solo City, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

“It is likely that I will become the organizer and the Solo Mayor as the manager,” he added.

Solo was officially designated as the host of the 2022 Asean Para Games, as stated in a decree issued by the Asean Para Sports Federation (APSF) on Jan. 14, 2022.

The 11th Asean Para Games is planned to not only take place in the city of Solo, but also in the surrounding area.

It will be the second time Indonesia hosts the Asean Para Games, with the first time being in 2011 at Solo.

Meanwhile, NPC Indonesia has appointed Surakarta (Solo) Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka as chair of the Asean Para Games Organizing Committee (INASPOC) 2022. (PNA)