Indonesia's efforts to improve the quality of disability sports are intensifying with the inauguration of 72 new classifiers. These experts were declared graduated after undergoing intensive national-scale training organized to reach the western and eastern regions of Indonesia.
This certification process took place in two crucial stages. The first stage was held in Solo from May 19-22, 2026, attended by 45 participants, all of whom successfully graduated. Meanwhile, the second stage of training for the eastern region took place in Makassar from June 29 to July 2, 2026, graduating 27 out of 32 participants who attended the program.
Acting Assistant Deputy for Sports Personnel and Organizations of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Leny Kurnia, emphasized that the presence of these classifiers aims to distribute competence to the regions. This step was taken so that every province in Indonesia has experts capable of scouting and developing disabled athletes more evenly and measurably.
On the other hand, the Chief Classifier of NPC Indonesia, Dr. dr. Retno Setianing, Sp.KFR (K), emphasized that classification is an absolute foundation in disability sports. Without a proper classification process, fair and equal competition is difficult to achieve. Therefore, the presence of classifiers in the regions will facilitate the identification of athlete potential in accordance with relevant competition categories.
This initiative is seen as a vital strategy in the achievement roadmap towards the 2028 Paralympics. With a wider reach of experts, it is hoped that the discovery of talented athletes in remote areas can be carried out earlier, making access for people with disabilities to excel on both national and international stages more widely open.
