Indonesia will send 24 athletes to compete in the Beijing Olympics, with the hope of bringing home at least one gold medal, local media reports said Friday.

The athletes will compete in seven sporting events - athletics, archery, shooting, swimming, weightlifting, windsurfing and badminton - said Rita Subowo, chairwoman of the Indonesian Olympics Commitee (KOI).

“Hopefully, we can bring home a gold medal as usual … probably from badminton,” Subowo was quoted by DPA as telling the Jakarta Post.

Badminton is the only sport in which Indonesia has taken a gold medal since 1992. The badminton team is the country’s largest, with 11 players, including 2004 Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat, who has been struggling to rediscover his form.

Other athletes heading to Beijing will be content to improve their personal performances, officials said.

Indonesia won a gold, silver and two bronze medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Meanwhile, female lifter Lisa Rumewas, who won back-to-back silver medals in 2000 and 2004, said she would not be preoccupied with a medal target, while sprinter Suryo Agung Wibowo said he would aim to break his own national record.

“I’m not setting a target for the Olympics, but I will do my best for the country,” Rumewas was quoted as saying.

(Source: ANTARA News/dpa)

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