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If the Asian Youth Games is a glimpse of the country’s sporting future, it certainly looks bleak.

The continental tournament ended on Tuesday, with Indonesia settling for a solitary medal — a bronze — and 21st place in the 42-nation event.

Indonesia also failed to stand out in its region, ranking fifth among Southeast Asian nations.

Rita Subowo, the president of the National Sports Committee (KONI), said the country’s top amateur sports body has been guilty of overlooking its younger athletes.

“We failed because we didn’t prepare well, and I must admit that we’ve been putting too much emphasis on our senior athletes and neglecting the younger ones,” Rita said. “On behalf of KONI, we apologize to the public for the unsatisfactory result.”

Rita said KONI has vowed to carry out more efficient programs for younger athletes, with the goal of performing better in the first Youth Olympic Games next year, also to be held in Singapore.

To that end, Rita hopes the government will be able to fund upgrades to the team’s training.

“While we do our part in improving our athletes’ chances, I hope the government will also help us during our preparations for the Youth Olympics,” Rita said, adding that KONI would also seek the assistance of the Ministry of National Education to develop a system that would allow the young athletes to balance their responsibilities in the classroom and on the field.

“If the efforts are half-hearted, we will continue to be left behind by other Asian countries,” Rita added.

KONI sent a 45-strong contingent to Singapore but left the weeklong event with a lone medal from the boys’ beach volleyball team.

I Gede Eka Agustiawan and Ade Chandra Rachmawan defeated Yemen on Sunday for the bronze medal.

Beach volleyball head coach Slamet Mulyanto said he was confident that his team would land a spot on the podium.

“We had set our sights on a medal. I was even looking forward to the final,” Slamet said.

Slamet said that during the lead-up to the games, his team’s first international exposure, he focused his training on skill development and teamwork.

He added that he missed training his players on how to control the ball during strong winds, a skill that would have helped the athletes during the event.

“We were able to beat stronger teams [during the group phase] because the wind was not a big problem. That was the same case against Yemen,” Slamet said. “But in the semifinal against Thailand, the wind was stronger. That’s why we failed to control the ball and we lost 2-1.”