Table Tennis Queen, Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti Injects The Spirit Of Preparation For Paris 2024 Olympic Athletes

Former table tennis athlete Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti/Doc. NOC

JAKARTA Former Indonesian table tennis athlete Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti also injected the spirit of preparation for athletes to face the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Rossy has twice represented Indonesia in the four-year prestigious event from table tennis. The two Olympics were 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, and 1996 in Atlanta, United States.

Rossy's struggle to appear in the Olympics was not easy. In the aftermath of Rossy's one month apart before qualifying for the Asian zone Olympics, he then got up and played in the multi-branch event after surgery.

"The doctor actually strictly forbade it, but I insisted on going down because I was determined to make Merah Putih so great," said Rossy.

Rossy gave this encouragement when he came to hand over the Atlanta Olympic torch to the Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC) at the NOC Office, Senayan, Jakarta, Friday, January 5 yesterday.

The sport is a memento brought by Rossy at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. At that time, he was appointed to represent Indonesia.

Rossy ran 500 meters carrying the torch at the fun run trick relay shortly before the opening of the world's most prestigious sporting event.

Rossy hopes that the enthusiasm of Indonesian athletes who are struggling in qualifying and who will later appear can at least be reflected in the torch he gave.

"With my experience, I want Indonesia who will fight in Paris to feel the same way. I have memories of this torch as an Olympic soap opera in Indonesia so that athletes are enthusiastic about fighting in Paris," he said.

"It is necessary to be mentally champion. Don't be complacent with one achievement. Don't stop dreaming, nothing is impossible, if we have a goal, have will, have determination, anything can be passed," he added.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11. Currently, there are five Indonesian athletes who have certainly qualified there.

Indonesia targets to qualify at least 28 athletes as in the previous edition in Tokyo and bring home more than two gold medals for the first time in history.

Indonesia's previous best journey was the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The two gold medals brought home at that time were presented by badminton players Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma.