JAKARTA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's national downhill mountain bike team coach was upbeat over their prospects for the achievement of a gold medal target in the Asian Games this year, the association said here on Wednesday.
A senior official with the country's cycling association, Parama Nugroho, said that the opportunity for the racers to secure a title in downhill mountain bike is bigger than at the track and road race sports.
"Downhill presents a bigger opportunity as we will play in our own country. Hopefully the athletes can benefit from this opportunity," he said.
To reach this goal, the official said that the team, consisting of three men cyclists and two women racers, has been undergoing training in East Java province since 2016, and plans to compete in several international tournaments.
Nugroho told the cyclists to watch closely their opponents from Thailand, Japan and Chinese Taipei as they have been the strongest competitors for Indonesian racers in the previous international tournaments.
In April, the Indonesian national team will leave for Australia for training, said head coach Zainul Siswanto.
The team will take part in a tournament in Cebu, the Philippines from May 2-6, he added.
The 18th Asian Games is scheduled to be played in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Palembang, the provincial capital of South Sumatra province from August 18 to September 2.
