Rina grabs 3rd gold in Palembang<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post\/Palembang<\/p>\n
Rina Dewi Puspita of East Java won her third gold medal in the
\narchery competition at the 16th National Games here on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Rina, whose Olympic bid collapsed in early stage in Athens,
\ndefeated Yasmidar Hamid of West Java in the final of the women's
\nindividual FITA Olympic round by 99 points to 97.<\/p>\n
Competing in Sunday's event having helped her team win two
\ngolds on Saturday, Rina appeared set to take another with her
\nconsistent run almost from the start.<\/p>\n
In the final, she looked nervous before composing herself to
\nseal victory.<\/p>\n
She admitted her nerves, but said that her strong will to win
\nhad helped her to get over them.<\/p>\n
\"Well, I felt a bit nervous, but I didn't want to lose the
\nfinal match. I convinced myself I would be up to the task,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Rina won the individual FITA 70-meter round
\nbefore helping the team come second in the 70-meter team event as
\nEast Java swept three of the four gold medals on offer on the
\nday.<\/p>\n
Having already collected three, Rina still looks hungry for
\nanother. She said that she wanted to team up with fellow East
\nJavanese athletes in the FITA Olympic round team event on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"I still want more gold medals. I hope I can get them,\" said
\nRina, whose Palembang performance is her first appearance in the
\nquadrennial national sporting spectacle.<\/p>\n
Sunday's victory earned East Java an overall four golds from
\nthe archery field.<\/p>\n
The team could have collected its fifth but Kuswantoro failed
\nto match Permadi Sandra of Central Java in the men's final,
\nlosing 111-108.<\/p>\n
Rina represented Indonesia in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games,
\nbut she lost in the first round to Jennifer Nichols of the United
\nStates 160-141 in six sessions.<\/p>\n
While Rina was celebrating, Yasmidar could not hide her
\ndisappointment. She rued the loss, particularly because she had
\nbeen performing impressively earlier on, and had shot many
\nperfect 10s.<\/p>\n
But the jitters set in during the final and Yasmidar, who
\npipped defending champion Lilies Handayani of East Java in the
\nsemifinals with a score of 100-99, finally cracked and allowed
\nRina to take the prize.<\/p>\n
Lilies took the bronze after beating Hamdiah of East
\nKalimantan 95-92 in the playoff.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, focused preparation before the competition produced
\na gold for Permadi Sandra.<\/p>\n
\"I just tried to play consistently. I prepared privately in
\nCilacap and tried to play consistently in the wind. This proved
\nsuccessful as I was able to handle the unpredictable wind in
\nPalembang,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I'm glad I've finally won a gold in PON as I never took a
\ngold in the last two PON that I participated in,\" said Permadi,
\nsporting a Javanese traditional hat called a blankon and
\nsunglasses.<\/p>\n
In the play-off for the bronze, Hendro Suprianto of West Java
\ndefeated Budi Sartono of West Java 103-92.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rina-grabs-3rd-gold-in-palembang-1447893297",
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