Indonesia’s first Paralympic archers take aim at gold

SURAKARTA – Five Indonesian archers who have lost an arm or a leg train together under the bright central Javan sun, drawing their bows and closing one eye to shoot at targets as they prepare for the Paris Paralympics from Aug 28 to Sept 8.

The “magnificent five” are the first archers from the country to ever qualify for the Paralympics, and they are now training their sights on medals.

“It is history. Simply amazing,” Ken Swagumilang, who had his leg amputated due to bone cancer and qualified for the compound men’s standing competition, said in Surakarta.

The group of archers, including Kholidin and Setiawan, who go by one name, Teodora Audi Ayudia and Wahyu Retno Wulandari are aiming to carve out their own legacy with family and government support.

The five men and women – in both standing and wheelchair categories – will compete in the recurve and compound archery disciplines.

“It’s not just one or two athletes, it’s five, imagine. It’s the first time, and five athletes will compete,” added Swagumilang.

The bronze medallist from the Asian Para Games in 2023, who now stands on a prosthetic leg, sees a Paralympic semi-final as his realistic ambition, but dreams bigger.

“Who doesn’t want to win a gold medal?” he said.

Years of hard work have strengthened their bodies to draw the bow and shoot arrows with high levels of accuracy.

And their optimism has risen after bagging two golds at the para-archery world ranking event in the Czech Republic in June and two bronzes at the Asian Para Games.

Kholidin, one of the gold medallists in June, is the only one among the five who cannot draw the bow by the arm after his right limb was amputated following a fall from a coconut tree in 2017.

He will compete in the recurve men’s standing event, using his teeth to draw his bow.

“I tried using the front teeth, but it made me unable to eat. It was extremely painful for three days. Then I tried using my side teeth until they were bleeding,” he said.

Kholidin now comfortably draws 18kg of bowstring using his molars, a weight equal to about 18 litres of water.

“Me and my para-archer friends... we want to show that we can do better and make achievements,” he said.

Kholidin also said that better government backing has boosted the performances of the para-archers.

“They are supporting us more and making us enjoy participating in tournaments abroad more. We have participated in many tryouts. To Thailand, Dubai, Australia, China,” added the 46-year-old.

The Indonesian National Paralympic Committee has said it is not targeting any medals from the Paris Games. But its archers do not just want to make up the numbers.

“My target is a gold medal,” insisted Kholidin.

As the Games approach, some of the archers travelled to Europe early to adapt to the weather, with some saying the cooler climes would be challenging compared to their normal training conditions.

“In Indonesia, we get used to training in 30 deg C, 27 in the morning maybe. And in the afternoon, like at 12 or 1pm, it’s probably 34, 35 degrees,” said Swagumilang.

Audi was a high school student when a car accident left her lower body paralysed.

She started archery to train her arms, but it has now brought her to the biggest global event for athletes with disabilities. She will now fulfil a dream, competing in the compound women’s wheelchair category in Paris.

“I just want to say to people out there who have not fought yet, there is something better ahead,” said Audi.

“So, let’s fight!” AFP