Congratulations! Indonesian Archery Athlete Arif Dwi Pangestu Make Sure Tickets To The 2024 Paris Olympics

Indonesian athlete Arif Dwi Pangestu while competing in the 2023 World Archery Championships in Berlin, Germany. (Photo via Antara/Perpani)

JAKARTA - The proud achievement was achieved by Indonesian archery athlete, Arif Dwi Pangestu. The 19-year-old athlete successfully sealed a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It was Arif's ticket after qualifying for the semifinals of the 2023 World Archery Championships in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, August 6, local time. He defeated Japanese representative Saito Fumiya in the quarter-finals.

Arif had left 3'5, previously forced Saito to compete until the shoot-off round, scoring a perfect score in the last round. In his last shot, Arif's arrow landed in the target field X, while Saito was at 9.

"I was very happy when I found out I got a ticket quota for the 2024 Paris Olympics. I dedicate it specifically to Indonesia. Hopefully this ticket will be a way for other national training friends in the upcoming tournament. I am ready to fight in the team," said Arif, as quoted by Antara.

Furthermore, in the semifinals, Arif first met Peters Eric from Canada, who ended in Arif's defeat with a score of 4'6.

After being 2'0 behind, he turned things around and equalized to 4'4. However, in the last round, Peters took the lead with a score of 29'24.

Meanwhile, another semifinalist brought together Brazil's men's recurve world ranking Marcus D'Almeida and previous Olympic medalists from Turkey mete Gazoz.

The fight between the two was quite balanced, because until the third round, the two shared the draw and the final position to 3'3. Gazoz finally won the last two laps until the position became 3'7.

Gazoz's victory over D'Almedia caused Arif to compete with D'Almeda to fight for the bronze medal. Arif, who is still 19 years old, had the lead in the first round and played in the second round.

However, D'Almeda's appearance, who in the next round scored a perfect score in the fourth round, caused Arif to give up with a score of 4'6.

"Although Arif is in fourth place, we make sure that Arif gets one ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics because Mete Gazoz, world champion at this event, has already confirmed tickets to the Paris Olympics through the Turkish men's team. We congratulate Arif and the tireless struggle," said PB Perpani Chairman Arsjad Rasjid.

Previously, Arif surprised the event by defeating the first seed and defending champion Kim Woojin from South Korea, who successfully escorted him to the quarter-finals.

After leaving Berlin, the Indonesian archery national team will focus on preparing for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, which is also a qualifying tournament for tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"Winning tickets to the Paris Olympics from an early age is indeed our target, and it has been achieved. We believe in the ability and will of Indonesian archery national athletes who are fighting as hard as they can to make Indonesia proud," said Arsjad.