Gold-Worthy Grace

It is a busy afternoon at East Jakarta’s Raden Inten sports hall, where young girls are working to perfect their rhythmic gymnastics routines. Around 50 girls practice weekly at the hall, used as a venue for the 1997 Southeast Asian Games. The amateur and professional athletes hope that every bend, twist and stretch will win them a place on this year’s SEA Games team during selections on Sunday. The regional tournament will be hosted by Indonesia in November.It takes years of grueling work to achieve grace and efficiency, but it is worth the chance to honor the country with that flawless finish.