Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Bali's Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi took the gold medal in women's sport climbing with a record speed of 7.01 seconds at the Papua National Sports Week (PON) XX.
Bali sport climbing coach Suhardi Eka Prasetya told ANTARA at Mikika, Papua, on Friday that the contingent was proud of Dewi's performance, who displayed impressive speed in the competition.
"I hope that, in the future, Desak Rita can be faster and maintain her best performance," Prasetya remarked.
He revealed that she has performed well since her training days.
"From the beginning, I was optimistic that she would win the gold medal," he added.
Prasetya had estimated and targeted to win gold for the Bali contingent during the national sports event, which is held every four years.
In the final round of the women's sport climbing competition at Papua PON XX, Dewi faced off against fellow national team member Rajiah Salsabila from West Java.
Baca juga: PON Papua - Atlet panjat tebing Bali sabet medali emas
The two finalists are both projected to be on Indonesia's national team at the 2024 Paris Olympics along with Nurul Iqomah from West Nusa Tenggara and Alivany Ver Khadijah from South Sulawesi.
Dewi expressed her gratitude for her victory in the 2021 Papua Pon XX, saying she felt satisfied after winning first place for the first time in her career, despite facing a little problem during the competition.
"I am grateful for being able to win the gold medal. I thank every party and the people of Bali who have prayed that I would bring back a gold medal for Bali," she remarked.
During the final round, she said she felt her opponent let her guard down, which allowed her to slip past and become the champion with a time of 7.01 seconds.
