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Novia makes golden return to SEA Games
Two years ago she did not even make the team
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wo years ago she did not even make the team. In Vientiane, the venue of the 2009 SEA Games, Novia Nuraini has been redeemed by winning one of the two gold medals for Indonesia from the archery range on Tuesday.
“I am still in shock,” Novia said about her first SEA Games gold.
She could only bag a silver in 2005. She finished in a top-eight position in Doha, Qatar, in 2006 before failing to qualify for the team for SEA Games 2007.
On Tuesday, she defeated fellow Indonesian, defending champion and 2007 twin SEA gold medalist Ika Yuliana Rohmawati 103-99, en route to the final, where she overcame Malaysian Anbarasi Subramaniam 103-101 in the women’s individual recurve final.
The bronze medal went to Malaysian archer, Noor Aziera Taip.
Nineteen-year-old Novia excelled as the underdog.
“My biggest nemesis was myself. I was aware of that. So I just tried to confine my anxiety. And I did just that,” she said.
Novia first picked up the sport in elementary school at her hometown of Bojonegoro, East Java.
“I have been waiting so long for this medal. And now I have it,” she said.
Team manager Leane Suniar said Novia had proven her mettle throughout the tough final.
“Novia proved that she was not distracted by nerves, while Ika could not handle the pressure of being the defending champion,” Leane said.
Despite her victory, Novia was not entirely satisfied with her performancein in the final. Against Subramaniam, she scored a low point of five in her fifth of 12 shots, which she attributed to a misjudgement of wind direction.
Unlike Ika, I Gusti Nyoman Puruhito succeeded in continuing his domination in the men’s individual compound bow, taking another gold for Indonesia at the range.
Puruhito, familiarly called Adit, defeated Singaporean Adriel Chua Boon Rong 115-111. Earl Benjamin Yap of the Philippines took the bronze.
“I was more relaxed in this final as I had defeated the toughest opponent from the Philippines in yesterday’s semifinal,” he said about his match against Benjamin Yap.
The 24-year-old, who won silver for Indonesia at the Asian Championships in Bali prior to Laos, has won medals at each of his three SEA Games appearances.
The opening day of the archery competition had four gold medals on offer. The other two went to through Jennifer Chan of the Philippines in the women’s compound bow and Cheng Chu Sian of Malaysia in the men’s recurve.
The Indonesian squad is looking to add more gold to the medal tally on Wednesday when they participate in the finals of the team events of the men’s and women’s recurve and compound. They took home three golds from the last SEA Games.s
