Striker for indonesia's u-22 national team hokky caraka is determined to avenge his 2023 sea games exclusion by targeting gold in 2025. Coach indra sjafri affirms the ambition to defend the gold despite an official silver target. The team's preparation is progressing positively in jakarta ahead of the tournament in thailand.
Hokky caraka, striker for indonesia's u-22 national team playing for persita tangerang, brings strong motivation heading into sea games 2025 in thailand. He joined the training camp for sea games 2023 in cambodia but was cut from the final squad under indra sjafri, who ultimately led the team to gold. "Sea games tahun kemarin iya bagian dari tim, tapi dicoret. Gak masuk skema barangkali," hokky told antar a in jakarta on wednesday.
Now, with indra sjafri coaching again, hokky sees this as a second chance. "Kita dari awal kumpul sudah menanamkan target buat timnas. Dari yel-yel pun kita sudah menanamkan medali emasnya sendiri. Itu jadi pacuan kita di sea games," he said. The team's preparation is rated positive after two test matches against mali. "Di latihan sudah banyak progres. Kesalahan-kesalahan kecil dari pertandingan lawan mali kemarin, kita sudah berbenah dan dikasih evaluasi dari pelatih," hokky revealed. Support from top analysts also boosts his confidence.
Indra sjafri targets gold despite the evaluation team setting silver for medal calculations. Indonesia won sea games 2023 and aims to defend it in the december 2025 edition. "Jadi tidak ada salah, saya pikir. Tapi kalau ditanyakan ke saya sesuai dengan harapan masyarakat, pasti yang terbaik," indra said during training at stadion madya in jakarta on wednesday. He urges pssi to announce the final squad soon, reducing from 31 to 23 players, while thailand and vietnam have already done so. Overseas players like ivar jenner and marselino ferdinan have not joined yet, nor have kakang rudianto and robi darwis from persib bandung.
Hokky emphasizes team focus over personal ambitions. "Kalau personal target saya jauh-jauhin aja dulu. Karena lebih penting kita bisa dapat medali emas dan mempertahankan emas," he stated firmly.