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Yenny Wahid on mission to popularize sport climbing, discover new talents
The daughter of the late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and newly appointed chairwoman of the Indonesian Sport Climbing Federation (FPTI), Yenny Wahid, has vowed to go all out to improve the country’s performance in the sport by producing more high-quality athletes
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span>The daughter of the late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and newly appointed chairwoman of the Indonesian Sport Climbing Federation (FPTI), Yenny Wahid, has vowed to go all out to improve the country’s performance in the sport by producing more high-quality athletes.
Yenny, widely known as one of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's biggest supporters, has followed in the foot steps of National Intelligence Agency chief Gen. (ret) Budi Gunawan and former vice-presidential candidate Sandiaga Uno, who have previously dived into the national e-sports industry by taking roles in the newly established Indonesia Esports Association.
The former journalist was elected as the federation's chairwoman in December last year by acclamation and will head the organization until 2023. She decided to run for the position as she felt Indonesia had a lot of untapped potential in the sport, she explained during the inauguration of the federation’s new management in Jakarta on Tuesday.
“I like sport climbing despite the fact that I cannot climb,” she said.
“We already have the Indonesian Spiderwoman, but I feel there are many talents out there waiting to be discovered. That’s why I want to contribute to developing sport climbing in Indonesia,” she added, referring to star sport climber Aries Susanti Rahayu, who is popularly known by her nickname Spiderwoman, which she earned after setting a world speed climbing record of under 7 seconds.
Many believe Yenny faces an uphill battle because of her inexperience in the field, or even worse, suspecting her to have used the federation as a political vehicle to gain popularity. Responding to this, Yenny said at the end of the day it would be the results of her leadership that would tell the difference.
Previously, Indonesian Sport Scientist Association head Djoko Pekik Irianto said many sport associations had sought to appoint chairpersons with close proximity to political power in order to guarantee government support.
Djoko acknowledged this had been a successful strategy, as it was the purpose of a sport association to gain the best assistance for its athletes.
"There are no regulations that specifically prohibit this. However, it would be best for sports people if the government provided greater support alongside stricter monitoring to ensure results," he told The Jakarta Post recently.
Sport climbing has grown in popularity in Indonesia over the past three years thanks to the achievements of the national sport climbing squad at a series of international events. The inclusion of the sport at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and South Sumatra’s Palembang also boosted its popularity and helped change perceptions of it from only a hobby of outdoor enthusiasts to a legitimate sport.
On a mission to create many more Indonesian spiderwomen and spidermen, Yenny's first goal is to intensify efforts to popularize the sport by building 100 climbing walls across the country.
“We will look for potential talents from schools, beginning at the elementary level. The [new] walls could be developed at schools or at other facilities. This will boost enthusiasm [toward sport climbing].”
“If we facilitate the youngsters [by providing facilities], they will be able to hone their abilities and we will be able to spot those with the potential to go forward,” she said.
When taking on her new role, Yenny, who is also known as a pluralism activist, acknowledged there were many challenges to developing the sport, including a lack of facilities and infrastructure.
“Significant investment is required to renew or build new infrastructure. Building a wall and buying the equipment is expensive enough,” she said.
“I received information that one of our male athletes actually broke a world record during an Asian championship last year in Bogor [West Java] but it was annulled as the measurement equipment used [at the event] did not meet international standards.
“That is tragic. For me, those kinds of circumstances must not be repeated in the future,” she added.
Right now, members of the national sport climbing squad are on a mission to secure the last ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After failing to grab an Olympic ticket at the qualifier in Toulouse, France, last November, the squad, comprising Aries Susanti Rahayu, Nurul Iqamah, Alfian M. Fajri and Aspar Jaelolo, will battle for the ticket at the last qualifiers at the Asian Championships in Morioka, Japan, on May 18 to 24.
The Tokyo Games, where sport climbing will make its Olympic debut, will only feature a combined event comprising three climbing disciplines, namely speed, lead and bouldering.
Indonesian athletes are known to excel at speed climbing.
“Our biggest competitor in the last qualifier will be the Koreans, as they excel in lead climbing and bouldering,” said FPTI achievement and development department deputy head Rahmat Sofyan.
