The Indonesian national golf team departed early for Thailand to undergo a final training camp ahead of the 2025 SEA Games, following the closing of the match venues by the committee starting three days before the official training day.
Indonesian national golf team coach Alga Topan said the decision was taken to ensure athletes still had the opportunity to test the course before access was completely closed.
"It's been announced that the venue will be closed three and four days before the match due to match preparations. So we have to leave early to test the pitch before it closes. We plan to leave tomorrow," Alga Topan told ANTARA by phone on Thursday.
Official training for the 2025 SEA Games, Alga continued, was scheduled for December 10, but the closure of the venue from December 8-9 meant the team could not follow the training schedule as originally planned.
"Initially, we planned high-intensity training until match day. But because the venue was closed, the schedule had to be adjusted. We'll maximize the two remaining days before the field is no longer usable," said Alga.
Previously, the national golf team had completed a three-stage national training program, including tournament tryouts in the Philippines, training camps at Sedayu Indo Golf and Damai Indah PIK, and the final phase in Thailand.
The early departure is expected to maintain training momentum and close the adaptation gap to the host team's field conditions.
"We know the hosts might have their own strategies, and that's understandable. The important thing is that we anticipate them with optimal preparation," said Alga.
Indonesia will field seven athletes, consisting of four men and three women, including two players who came from the United States and joined directly in Thailand, namely Rayhan Latief and Elaine Widjaja.
The remaining men's teams are Randy Bintang, Kenneth Sutianto, and Amadeus Susanto. The women's teams are Bianca Laksono and Sania Wahyudi.
