Berlin –
Arsyad Al Banjari made an astonishing achievement at the 2023 Special Olympics Summer Games. He just won a gold medal. tops!
At the event held in Berlin, Arsyad won two medals in swimming, namely gold in the 100-meter butterfly Level B with a time of 1 minute 23.28 seconds and a bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke Level A with a record time of 01 minutes 23.45 seconds.
His success in achieving achievements in this world event is due to a strong motivation from within him to make his parents proud. Apart from that, Arsyad also thanked Menpora Dito Ariotedjo who gave him the trust to defend Indonesia in the event.
“Alhamdulillah, I am very happy and this is the first time I have competed at the world level. Thank you Mr Menpora Dito for the trust given to me,” said Arsyad in a press release to detikSport.
“My first motivation to be able to excel here is my parents. I want to make my parents proud. I come from people who don’t have any. My father is a garbage collector in people’s complexes,” Arsyad added.
Becoming a world champion is not something that is easy to achieve, especially since this is Arsyad’s first world event. Not to mention, Arsyad has to face opponents from various countries who have different abilities.
“It’s definitely exciting because we are competing against other countries. Of course the opponents are heavy, but thank God in the butterfly style we can leave our opponent 25 meters with a difference of 18 seconds, in the breaststroke I only lose 1.04 seconds to the gold, I recorded a time of 1 minute 23.45 while those who won the gold medal recorded a time of 1 minute 22.41 seconds,” said the athlete from South Kalimantan,
Arsyad also left a message for Indonesian athletes to be tireless in training and fighting to defend the Red and White flag in the international arena.
“Struggle and keep fighting to achieve success,” said Arsyad, who has been practicing since grade 5 of elementary school.
Menpora Dito is indeed committed to pushing all of Indonesia’s sporting potential, including their appearance in this event.
“SOIna athletes have special talents, very high fighting spirit, so they can be an inspiration for the Indonesian people including myself. The abilities that exist in SOIna athletes are positive and useful for the nation and the country,” said Dito.
“Through Kemenpora, this is our commitment as the government, so we will continue to develop and focus on this. The point is we are pushing for equality and inclusiveness in the management of the sports ecosystem in Indonesia.”
Watch Video “Moment of Dito Ariotedjo’s Inauguration as RI Menpora”
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