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Despite stumbles, young skaters rise with optimism
Calvin Pratama (JP/Ramadani Saputra)As the melody from “Waves” by Dean Lewis played in the background, Calvin Pratama moved freely around the ice rink, showing his abilities to jump and spin, wowing the judges and spectators who came to Oasis Center Arena in AEON Mall, East Jakarta, on Sunday afternoon
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Calvin Pratama (JP/Ramadani Saputra)
As the melody from “Waves” by Dean Lewis played in the background, Calvin Pratama moved freely around the ice rink, showing his abilities to jump and spin, wowing the judges and spectators who came to Oasis Center Arena in AEON Mall, East Jakarta, on Sunday afternoon.
However, it was not all smooth skating for the 18-year-old during Sunday’s performance, as he stumbled and fell while attempting several tricks. Nevertheless, Calvin maintained his composure and confidence, with his performance increasing in excitement as the backing track changed to the more upbeat Woodkid’s “Run Boy Run”.
“When I fell in the rink, I immediately [told myself] to calm down. I told myself that I need to take a breath to avoid another mistake in the next routine,” he told The Jakarta Post after his performance.
“I suffered an ankle injury a week before this tournament. I have prepared for around four months for this national championship,” the Bandung, West Java, native added.
His performance at Sunday’s 2019 National Figure Skating Championship sent him to second on the podium in the elite junior men’s category behind Muhammad Dwi Rizqy Apolianto.
Calvin, who is in the final year of high school and has been figure skating for seven years, is still hungry to reach greater heights in his career. His dream is to one day compete at the prestigious Winter Olympics, following in the steps of his idol Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, a gold medalist at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.
“There’s a lot of things about my skating, such as jumping and spinning, that need improvement. I train five days a week to level up my performance to score higher points,” he said, revealing that on average he spent up to three hours in the rink during each practice session.
His introduction to figure skating came when his hometown Bandung got its first skating rink at the Istana Plaza mall. Thanks to his parents, who brought him to the rink, Calvin now has a deep love for the sport.
“The biggest challenge comes when I have to master a new movement. It is easy to get injured as we only rest on a thin metal blade,” he said.
Calvin is among the country’s hopefuls, with the national team attempting to fill the void left after its senior elite men skaters chose to retire. The country is hoping these promising young skaters can step up as the team prepares for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines at the end of this year.
Indonesian Ice Skating Federation (FISI) head Susan Herawaty said the 2019 SEA Games were the federation’s main target, as it would be the second time the federation had sent athletes to the multisport event after the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
“We won one silver and one bronze [in Kuala Lumpur] and now we are aiming to win two gold medals from short track speed skating,” she said.
At the Kuala Lumpur Games, Indonesia Steavanus Wihardja won silver in the men’s 500 meters short track speed skating, while the women’s team won bronze in the 3,000-m relay. The figure skating team is yet to have a podium finish.
To intensify the squad’s preparations, Susan said she planned to conduct a three-month overseas training program for the speed skating and figure skating teams in South Korea, starting in July.
