Asian Cycling Race: Ayustina Delia Priatna Runner Up In Tajikistan, Good Start Toward SEA Games Hanoi

Ayustina Delia Priatna was runner up for the Individual Time Trail (ITT) category of the 2022 Asian Championship or the Asian Road and Para Cycling Championship in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Sunday (27/3/2022). (ANTARA/HO-PB ISSI)

JAKARTA - Women's cycling athlete Ayustina Delia Priatna has a good start in preparation for the Hanoi SEA Games, Vietnam, after making history by taking the second podium in the Women Elite Individual Time Trail (ITT) category at the 2022 Asian Championship or the Asian Road and Para-Cycling Championship in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Sunday.

The Head Coach of the Indonesian Cycling Team, Dadang Haries Purnomo, said this result was unexpected considering that this was the first international event for Indonesian athletes in almost two years not to compete due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Our focus is preparation for the Hanoi SEA Games. We just want athletes to be able to improve their performance during the Asian Championships. Indeed, we have not participated in the event for quite a long time. So Ayu's results are a surprise and she has shown rapid progress during the national training," Dadang told ANTARA, Sunday.

Ayustina finished second with a time of 33 minutes 59,275 seconds. She was under the Kazakh racer Rinata Sultanova who became the champion with a time of 33 minutes 24,632 seconds. The third position was won by Solongo Tserenlkham from Mongolia with a time of 35 minutes 04.082 seconds.

Dadang also said that this result was a benchmark for the Hanoi SEA Games considering that the participants who appeared in the Asian Championships were also followed by athletes who later took part in Hanoi.

"Our target is in the SEA Games. We can excel from other Southeast Asian countries here, which are actually full of them participating in championships such as Thailand and Vietnam," said Dadang.

To increase flight hours and prepare for the Hanoi SEA Games, Dadang said Indonesian athletes plan to take a tour in Thailand in early April.