Jakarta. Indonesia has recorded its strongest away performance at the Southeast Asian Games in 32 years after finishing the SEA Games 2025 with 91 gold medals, exceeding its initial target of 80.

The gold tally places Indonesia in second behind the host nation and marks Indonesia’s best result as a non-host nation since 1993 and stands as the third-highest number of gold medals the country has won when competing abroad since its SEA Games debut in 1977.

Indonesia’s most successful away campaign remains the 1989 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, where it secured 102 gold medals, followed by the 1991 Manila Games with 92. Since then, gold medal hauls declined, including 88 golds at the 1993 Singapore Games.

Sports observer Gatot Dewa Broto said the achievement signaled that Indonesia was back on the right track toward regaining its dominance in Southeast Asian sport.

“Competing at the SEA Games as a non-host has long been a major challenge for Indonesia. Since the 1993 Singapore Games, we have never surpassed 88 gold medals,” Gatot said on Sunday.

“At the previous Cambodia SEA Games, we came close with 87 golds. After 32 years, Indonesia has finally broken that psychological barrier. This is the moment we move beyond a long-standing nightmare as an away participant,” he added.

Gatot urged sports authorities to use the result as momentum when athletes return to national training centers, particularly as Indonesia prepares for the Asian Games 2026 and the Olympics 2028.

At the Paris Olympics 2024, Indonesia matched its best-ever Olympic gold medal haul of two, previously achieved at the Barcelona Olympics 1992. Notably, the Paris gold medals came from sport climbing and weightlifting, marking the first time Indonesia’s Olympic golds did not come from badminton.

“Once the team returns from Thailand, a thorough evaluation is needed to map out which sports can become Indonesia’s main strengths at the Asian level, as we have less than nine months before the Asian Games,” Gatot said.

Similar optimism was voiced by Noviantika Nasution, a former chair of the Indonesian Basketball Association, who said the SEA Games result revived memories of Indonesia’s strong sporting legacy in Southeast Asia.

“Indonesia’s performance at this SEA Games is truly encouraging. Based on these results, we should be confident about achieving new positive outcomes at the 2026 Asian Games,” she said.

Indonesia closed the 2025 SEA Games with a total of 333 medals, comprising 91 gold, 112 silver, and 130 bronze.

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