Emilia Nova Strives to Qualify for 2020 Olympics

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Indonesian champion hurdler Emilia Nova on Sunday (9/12/2019) at New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, the Philippines.

NEW CLARK CITY, KOMPAS — Indonesian champion hurdler Emilia Nova said that her Philippines 2019 SEA Games gold was “fuel” on her journey to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After her return from the Philippines, the 2018 Asian Games silver medalist will train to fulfill the 12.88-second qualifying time for Tokyo 2020.

Emilia’s time of 13.61 seconds, with which she won the women’s 100-meter hurdles silver on Sunday (9/12/2019) at New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, the Philippines, is still 0.71 seconds more than the Olympics qualifying time. She needs to work hard to close the gap in the time remaining for the qualification.

“In order to fulfill the Olympic [qualification], I hope to compete in at least six international competitions. Ideally, it should be 10 [competitions] to strengthen my fighting spirit,” she said.

Indonesian Athletics Association (PASI) hurdles coach Fitri “Ongky” Haryadi said that commitment from the government and the federation would be needed for athletes to make it to the Olympics. “Athletes must have the opportunity to train and participate in international competitions more often, at least like it was ahead of the 2018 Asian Games,” Fitri said.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Indonesian champion hurdler Emilia Nova on Sunday (9/12/2019) at New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, the Philippines.

Before preparing to earn the ticket to the Olympics, Emilia will need to focus on recovering from a heel injury. At the hurdles event on Monday, the 24-year-old athlete felt pain in her heel from an old injury that returned earlier this year.

At the Asian Games final, Emilia competed with an injured groin muscle.

It is because of this injury that Emilia has not clocked a faster time than 13.33 seconds, with which she won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games. At the Asian Games final, Emilia competed with an injured groin muscle.

Emilia’s times have continued to worsen this year. At the Doha 2019 Asian Athletics Championships on 23 April, she finished fifth with a time of 13.70 seconds. At the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples on 10 July, she finished sixth with a time of 14.19 seconds.

She then focused on her recovery and did not return to the track until September. Emilia had light training in mid-October. A week before the 2019 SEA Games, Emilia had only regained 85-90 percent of her capacity. During training, she was only allowed to run eight hurdles – or 80 meters – out of the usual 10 hurdles in a 100-meter race. “If I force myself to run for too long, I will feel pain in my heel. The pain is overwhelming,” she said.

KOMPAS/Adrian Fajriansyah

Indonesian champion hurdler Emilia Nova on Sunday (9/12/2019) at New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, the Philippines.

Emilia’s diligence in injury recovery has resulted in the gold medal in the 2019 SEA Games. “I am very glad that I could finally win gold in the SEA Games hurdles. I feel so much happier than when I won silver at the 2018 Asian Games, as I had to struggle really hard the past year to participate in the SEA Games. I have suffered recurring pain in my heel since early this year,” she explained.

At the final, Emilia finished with 13.61 seconds. Vietnam’s Yen Hoa Tran Thi won silver with 13.75 seconds, while Singapore’s Nur Izlyn Binte Zaini won bronze with 13.92 seconds.

“For all my efforts in the past year, I am very satisfied with my gold, even if my time is not that good. It’s good that I can still compete, since I am still injured. That I can get gold is truly an extraordinary blessing from Allah,” said Emilia.

Male hurdler Rio Maholtra was unable to replicate Emilia’s success, finishing fourth in the final with 14.06 seconds.

Overall, the athletics team has won five golds, three silvers and one bronze.

Indonesia’s athletics team claimed two golds, one silver and one bronze on Monday. Aside from Emilia, Hendro Yap won gold in the men’s 20 km walk. Meanwhile, Hafiz Abdullah won silver in the men’s javelin and Agustina Mardika Manik won bronze in the women’s 800 m. Overall, the athletics team has won five golds, three silvers and one bronze.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s swimmers have achieved less than they did at the 2017 SEA Games, where they won four golds, 11 silvers and 10 bronzes. At this year’s SEA Games, they won one gold, five silvers and seven bronzes. Indonesia’s swimming team lags far behind Singapore’s, which claimed the top rank with 18 golds, seven silvers and three bronzes. Vietnam ranks second with 10 golds, five silvers and eight bronzes.