Ken Ayuthaya Purnama is among the Jakarta contingent’s top contenders for the women’s 100-meter hurdles and women’s 4×100-meter relay at the XX Papua National Sports Week (PON).

In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Purnama will compete with two other athletes from the capital, Emilia Nova and Liza Putri Ramandha.

Born on January 27, 1997, Purnama is not new to the athletics world. She has a long track record of participating in national and international championships and has made a number of achievements.

In 2013, Purnama won a bronze in the 100-meter women’s hurdles at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, with a time of 14.45 seconds.

That time, she finished behind Nana Fujimori from Japan, who won the gold medal with a time of 13.69 seconds, and Nguyen Thi Lan of Vietnam, who took the silver medal with a time of 14.43 seconds.

With a record time of 14.45 seconds, Purnama was the national youth record holder in Indonesia, at least until 2017.

At the international level, she won gold at the Hong Kong Intercity Athletics Championships in 2016. Then in 2018, she secured a bronze at the Asian University Games in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

At the national level, the 24-year-old has numerous achievements under her belt. For example, in 2019, she won gold at the East Java Open with a record time of 14.30 seconds. That achievement also made her qualify for the Papua PON.

In the same year, Purnama also secured first place with 14.40 seconds at the Athletics National Championship, which took place in Cibinong, West Java.

She also bagged another gold at the National Student Sports Week in 2019 with a record time of 14.42 seconds.

With those achievements, Purnama said she is confident that she will do well in the Papua PON.

Pandemic challenges

Purnama’s preparations for Papua PON were filled with many challenges. She said that many policies imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic affected her training routines.

However, those challenges did not stop her and the Jakarta team from preparing their best for the national games, she added.

She said that thanks to preparation and hard work, she managed to achieve a record time of 14.25 seconds, her personal best, during trials with the West Java contingent some time ago.

In addition to practicing, maintaining motivation in the midst of a pandemic was essential for her, Purnama added. More so because, throughout 2020, she did not participate in competitions at all.

She said one of the ways she remained motivated was by watching athletes compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“They worked hard and did not see their family for several months to focus on training. Therefore, they also achieved the best results at the Tokyo Olympics. Such stories are very inspiring to me,” she told ANTARA during an interview on September 16, 2021.

To prepare for the Papua PON, Purnama has had to do the same thing. She had to take part in the training camp to focus on training and, of course, maintain her health in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She had to live away from her family and close friends for a while since following the health protocols during the coronavirus pandemic was crucial for participating in the Papua PON, she informed.

“These all should be done. We must take care of each other for the sake of everyone’s safety. This week, we had the opportunity to say goodbye to our family before leaving for Papua, of course, while still complying with the health protocols,” she said.

Currently, Purnama is in her final preparation period before leaving for Papua, which is scheduled to start on October 2, 2021. She said she is optimistic that she will do her best at Papua PON.

“In the last three weeks, we have been focusing on improving our performance. So, we are really focused on training,” she said.

Purnama’s second PON

For Purnama, this year’s PON in Papua will be her second PON after her debut in West Java’s national games in 2016.

In her PON debut, she finished 5th in the women’s 100-meters hurdles with a time of 14.44 seconds.

Purnama — who was 19 years old at that time — was behind her two teammates from Jakarta, Emilia Nova, who bagged gold with a time of 13.35 seconds, and Dedeh Erawati, who took silver after recording a time of 13.56 seconds.

Meanwhile, the bronze was won by Rohani of the West Nusa Tenggara contingent, who finished with 14.14 seconds and Rohimayati of Bangka Belitung secured fourth place with 14.42 seconds.

Despite her experience, Purnama has continued to train hard to improve her personal record. Based on data two years ago, she said that her position was in the top two at the national level, after Emilia Nova.

However, she said the absence of competitions during the past one year has made it difficult to predict the outcomes of the Papua PON.

“I am optimistic that I can give my best. My record for the last two years have become my motivation to keep working hard. Of course, all athletes also want to become champions. So am I. It is just a matter of our mental condition when competing later,” she remarked.

Besides bringing home gold medals for the Jakarta contingent, Purnama said she is aiming to get back into the Indonesian national team squad.

“I used to train at the national training center (Pelatnas). Apart from achieving the best results in PON Papua, of course, all athletes want to join the national training center, and that is also my goal,” she added.

The XX Papua National Sports Week (PON) 2021 will be held from October 2-15, 2021. At least 6,400 athletes and 3,500 officials from 34 provinces across Indonesia are expected to participate in the National Games that will feature 37 events.

Source: Antara News