Indonesia is expecting to regain regional supremacy at the 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, said Rita Subowo, the chairwoman of the Indonesian National Sports Council (KONI), quoted by the Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"It's time for us to rise in Southeast Asia," she said.

Indonesia used to dominate the biennial multisport showcase since it first participated in 1977. However, the country's sporting contingent has recently become a second-tier crop, after flopping at the 1999 SEA Games to an unprecedented third place among 10 nations. In the last event in 2007, Indonesia posted an even worse result, struggling to fourth in the final medal standings.

While Indonesia is expected to still fall outside the top three at the 2009 Games hosted by Laos in December, Rita said she hoped the nation's athletes should shape up at home in 2011, when the Games return to Indonesia for the first time since 1997.

"We want sports to thrive in the provinces as they host the SEA Games," Rita said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2009)