"I am extremely proud of my success in presenting Jakarta with a gold medal at my first ever PON," she remarked after emerging victorious in the final match taking place at Syiah Kuala University's sports hall in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Tuesday (September 10).
Meli admitted to having long dreamed of appearing at the grandest national sports event while noting that she had aimed for a debut at the 20th PON in Papua in 2021 but did not qualify for it.
"Thank God, in 2024, I earned my place to join the regional centralized training for the PON," she remarked.
The gold medalist further stated that to give her best against West Java's representative, Desiana Syafitri, in the decisive match, she had to identify the most suitable strategy in addition to honing her physical performance.
"Before the final match, we (the Jakarta contingent) did invest time to think of a strategy to prevail over her (Desiana)," she pointed out.
Following her success story at this year's PON, the judoka said she was now eyeing a place to compete in the upcoming Southeast Asia's largest sports event, the 2025 SEA Games.
Team Jakarta has dominated in judo at the 2024 PON by securing gold medals in four of six contested events.
Apart from Meli, Indonesia's capital city bagged gold medals through Muhammad Jamil Reza in the men's 55-kilogram event, Shifa Aulia in the women's 45-kilogram event, and Maryam March Maharani in the women's 52-kilogram event.
Translator: Farhan A, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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