Maulana Rifky Debuts At The Paris 2024 Paralympics

Maulana Rifky will make her debut at the Paralympics (doc. NPC Indonesia).

JAKARTA Indonesian swimmer athlete, Maulana Rifky Yavianda, was not given a high target when he made his debut at the Paris 2024 Paralympics which was held from August 28 to September 8, 2024.

The swimmings have three names that qualified for the Paris 2024 Paralympics. The other two names that accompanied Rifky to the event were Jendi Pangabean and Syuci Indriani.

"I was given a target for this Paralympics to be able to break the best personal time record and enter the final. Here the reference for time for their enemies is indeed sharp," said Rifky.

Rifky will later compete in the 100-meter backstroke classification of the S12 and 100-meter freestyle classification S12 in this first Paralympic.

The 22-year-old athlete has a best time of 1 minute 03.55 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke classification of 12 and 55.53 seconds for the 100-meter freestyle classification S12.

Rifky previously shined in the 2022 Asian Para Games which took place in Hangzhou. At that time, he managed to donate two gold medals and one silver medal for Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the 2024 Paris Paralympics are the third Paralympics for Syuci and Jendi. The two swimmers have consistently been on the list since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, Brazil.

Jendi Pangabean will compete in the 100-meter backstroke classification S9. Meanwhile, Syuci Indriani will compete in the 100-meter butterfly of the S14 classification.

The three swimming athletes arrived in Paris with a large group of Indonesian contingents on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. Jendi, Syuci, and Rifky maintain conditions by practicing at the Aquatics Center, Saint Denis.

So far, the adaptation of Indonesian swimming athletes has been going well. Jendi Pangabean said that the weather changes in Paris are a challenge for each athlete.

"This is the third Paralympic for me, the target is to give the best. We will be maximal during the match later. Hopefully good things will be given to me," said Jendi.

In addition to extreme weather changes, athletes must also adapt to food. Syuci Indriani does not want food adaptation constraints to be an obstacle to presenting achievements.

"Regarding this food, it is quite difficult for me, but I have to eat so that my body is fit and my body can fit. I have to drink a lot, eat nutrients, and vitamins," said Syuci.

Syuci Indriani must be fit in order to achieve the target at the 2024 Paralympics. The final ticket is a realistic target in the midst of the tight competition for the 100 meters butterfly of the S14 classification.

"Personal targets can enter the final, that's very grateful. At least it can be better than the personal best time record in Hangzhou," said Syuci, who has the best time of 1 minute 09.66 seconds.