Bali Team Qualifies For Round Eight Of Women's Speed Relay At PON XXI Aceh-Sumut

BANDA ACEH- The women's rock climbing team from Bali Province, consisting of Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, Desak Nyoman Widianingsih, and Kadek Adi Asih, ensured that they qualified for the last eight women's speed relay at the XXI Aceh National Sports Week (PON).

The qualifying match which took place at the Rock Climbing Venue, Harapan Bangsa Stadium Complex, Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Saturday, September 7, managed to bring Bali forward to the next round along with seven other provinces.

The provinces that also advanced to the last eight besides Bali were East Java, South Sulawesi, Yogyakarta Special Region, Central Java, North Sumatra, Banten, and West Java. In this speed relay competition, each team consisted of three climbers who climbed the relay with the aim of scoring the fastest score. Each team was given two opportunities at Lane A and Lane B to achieve the best results.

Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, who is the world champion in the women's speed category at the IFSC World Championships 2023 in Bern, Switzerland, also played an important role in the success of the Bali team. Even though at the 2024 Paris Olympics she did not win a gold medal, the athlete who was born in Buleleng, Bali, on January 24, 2001, remained a mainstay in this national competition.

The women's speed relay qualification round was attended by 12 provinces, including East Java, Bali, Banten, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Central Java, West Java, South Sulawesi, South Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, North Sumatra, Aceh, Jakarta, and West Nusa Tenggara.

The President of the XXI Aceh-Sumut PON Rock Climbing Sports, Anugrah Agung Karokaro, said that the organization of the rock climbing competition went smoothly. He explained that this sport competed in a total of 16 numbers, and so far four numbers have been implemented. For the speed relay category, two lines are used and the fastest times will determine which contingent will enter the final round.

At PON XXI Aceh-Sumut, the rock climbing sport was attended by 26 provinces with a total of 188 athletes, consisting of 103 male athletes and 85 female athletes.