Krischayani Kurniawan's debut in the women's individual aerobic gymnastics competition at the 21st Aceh-North Sumatra National Sports Week (PON) culminated in her winning gold.
Her victory placed her at the top of the podium, making the Jakarta contingent proud.
The 21-year-old delivered an impressive performance with a total score of 18,650, surpassing East Java's Della Rosse Ananda Purbowo, who won silver with a score of 18,450, and Yogyakarta's Elmalia Virdania Putri, who took bronze with a score of 17,800.
A dream come true
For Krischayani, the win was long-awaited. Before the national sporting event, she had only secured a bronze medal at the pre-PON event.
However, she was not discouraged and used it as motivation to work harder in preparation for the PON.
Intensive training was the key to her success at this year's PON. In the last three months, she underwent a very strict training program under her coach's guidance.
Every day, she attended two training sessions—one in the morning and another in the afternoon—without taking a day off. She persevered through it all to win her first major championship and fulfill her dream of earning a gold medal at the 2024 PON.
Krischayani shared that her challenge was not only physical but also mental. Although she had prepared well, she felt nervous before the competition.
However, she said she managed to overcome those feelings thanks to the support of her coach and her parents, who came to watch her performance.
"I was nervous because the training was intense, but thank God, I was able to control it during the competition," she recalled.
Performing calmly with good emotional control, Krischayani was able to show her best. She earned 7,700 points for execution, 8,050 points for beauty of movement, and 2,900 points for difficulty.
Loving aerobics
Her journey into the world of gymnastics began very early. At age 10, she participated in the National Student Sports Olympiad (O2SN) for gymnastics floor exercise.
Though she did not achieve any particular distinction, she made a friend who was involved in aerobic gymnastics.
"My friend joined aerobics first, so I was introduced to it and participated in the exercise. Eventually, it was fun, and I started liking it," she said.
She became more serious about the sport and began participating in competitions between clubs.
Her commitment grew even stronger when she learned that the PON is the highest national sports competition for aerobic gymnastics. From then on, she continued to train diligently to achieve optimal results.
According to Krischayani, two of the most valuable lessons she has learned from gymnastics are consistency and discipline. Relentless and rigorous training became part of her daily routine, especially before major competitions like PON.
Additionally, she learned to manage her time well as a senior student at the Faculty of Sports Science at the State University of Jakarta (UNJ). She explained that she also managed to arrange her class schedule so it wouldn't conflict with her training hours.
"The training was in the morning and afternoon, so I looked for noon lecture classes that didn’t clash with the training hours," she added.
All her hard work and sacrifice finally paid off with her gold win at the 21st PON. She said she dedicated the victory to her parents, who have fully supported her since the beginning of her athletic career.
As an only child, she feels that this achievement is a gift to her parents.
Coach support
Krischayani's success is closely tied to the training provided by her coach, Fahmy Fachrezzy.
Fachrezzy noted that Krischayani's performance has shown significant improvement. He added that he believes, with her potential, she can achieve even greater things in the future, such as competing in the SEA Games.
According to him, she has great potential that can be further developed, as the golden age for gymnastics athletes ranges from 24 to 26 years.
Krischayani has not only brought home a gold medal but also opened up new opportunities to compete on the international stage.
She has also inspired other young athletes to remain consistent, proving that with hard work and optimism, success can be achieved in the future.
Editor : Abdullah Rifai
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