A Flurry of Incentives Behind Indonesia’s Sporting Achievements

The Indonesian government, under the leadership of Prabowo Subianto, played a key role in the Indonesian contingent’s success at multi-sport events such as the 2025 SEA Games, the 2026 Asian Games, the ASEAN Para Games and the Asian Para Games.

For the 2026 Asian Games, Indonesia set a target of four gold medals. Once the Asian Games had concluded, the Indonesian contingent returned home with a tally of 5 gold, 11 silver and 23 bronze medals.

This tally is one indication of Indonesia’s success at the Asian Games. These achievements were even marked by a number of impressive records.

One such achievement was Rahmat Erwin Abdullah’s success in breaking a world record whilst winning gold at the Asian Games. Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi broke an Asian Games record, whilst Nurisa Dian Ashrifah made history as the first Indonesian archer to win gold at the Asian Games.

In badminton, Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin, along with the Men’s Team, restored Indonesia’s prestige in badminton at the Asian level. Leo and Daniel won gold in the men’s doubles, whilst the Men’s Team once again emerged as the best at the Asian Games after a 28-year hiatus.

The athletes’ success at the Asian Games is undoubtedly linked to the bonuses offered by the government. For gold medallists at the 2026 Asian Games, the Indonesian government has already promised a bonus of Rp3 billion.

This sum is clearly far greater than the bonus offered four years ago. At that time, gold medallists were awarded a bonus of Rp1.575 billion. This means the bonus for the 2026 Asian Games is almost double that of the Asian Games four years ago.

A similar situation actually occurred at the 2025 SEA Games. At that time, the bonus for individual athletes who won gold at the SEA Games reached Rp1 billion. This figure is quite staggering because in the previous edition, the 2023 SEA Games, the bonus for individual gold medallists stood at Rp525 million. This means there has been almost a twofold increase in SEA Games bonuses.

The Indonesian government under Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka has also extended the same treatment to para-athletes. The bonus for the 2025 ASEAN Para Games is set at the same level as that for the 2025 SEA Games.

The Indonesian government is attempting to encourage and boost the spirit and motivation of Indonesian athletes through bonus incentives that are significantly larger. This has proven to be an additional source of motivation for athletes to bring honour to Indonesia.

Beyond the fantastic bonus payments, it must be recognised that sport has not yet become a primary focus in Indonesia. The budget for sport in Indonesia – particularly that of the Ministry of Youth and Sports – accounts for only a very small proportion of the overall State Budget.

If the budget for sport could be increased, training programmes for each sporting discipline would undoubtedly be more effective. Regular training could take place throughout the year across a wider range of sports.

Naturally, this would also be linked to the implementation of programmes that have already been drawn up, ensuring they are not at risk of being cancelled.

Consequently, the prospects of seeing athletes excel at international level would be significantly enhanced.