Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) chairperson Raja Sapta Oktohari lauded the Indonesian sport climbing athletes' achievements at the world cup as an indication that Indonesia could dominate the sport at the 2024 Olympics.
"I am amazed by the Indonesian athletes' achievements in the 2022 rock climbing world cup in Jakarta. This a positive bolster for all of us for the 2024 Summer Olympics," Oktohari said, according to an official statement received here on Monday.
During the world cup, Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo emerged as the overall champion in the speed climbing category after collecting a total of 4,455 points, including from his victories in two earlier world cup sessions in Seoul, South Korea, on May 6–8 and Salt Lake City, the United States, on May 27–29.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Kiroman Katibin took the runner-up position with a total of 4,080 points.
As Indonesia also topped the ranking in the speed climbing category in the world cup, Oktohari said he is optimistic that the national team will dominate the speed climbing sport in the Olympics.
He also expressed the hope that the Indonesian rock climbing team would not only pass the qualification stage, but also attain the maximum quota for the Olympics. The qualification stage of the Olympics will commence in 2023.
"The speed climbing discipline for the Paris Olympics will be limited to 28 men and women athletes, including two allotted for the host, hence we have only 26 quotas for men and women while the respective NOC is limited to send two men and two women athletes. I hope Indonesia would send the maximum permissible quota for the Olympics," Oktohari said.
Speed climbing will be the second sport climbing discipline to feature in the Olympics after the introduction of the Boulder and Lead combined format at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
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Translator: Shofi Ayudiana, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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