There were two beautiful moments at the Asian Games skateboard final at Jakabaring Sport City, Palembang, South Sumatra, that will not be forgotten by Indonesian skateboarder Bunga Nyimas Cinta.
First, the 12-year-old athlete became the youngest skateboarder to win a medal at the multisport event.
The second moment was the most special, because the bronze medal she won coincided with her mother's 35th birthday on Aug. 29.
"This medal is a birthday gift for my mother," Bunga said.
Competing under the hot sun in Palembang, she showed her potential as a talented skateboarder in the women’s street category.
She appeared confident in the final by successfully doing tricks such as a FS kickflip over the ramp and stalefish.
The trick was quite difficult but Bunga nailed it and claimed bronze with a final score of 19.8 points.
Margielyn Didal, 19, of the Philippines won gold with 30.4 points, while the silver medalist was 17-year-old Kaya Isa of Japan who scored 25.00 points.
"Alhamdulillah [Thank God], I am very grateful," said Bunga afterwards.
She was born on April 13, 2006, to Didiet Rio and Ika Damayanti and is the eldest of three siblings.
Her curiosity about skateboarding began while watching videos on social media when she was a second grader.
"Skateboarding is fun," she said.
Bunga took up the sport seriously when she was in the fifth grade.
Her talent was honed by skateboarding legend Anthony “Tony Sruntul” Adam Caya who is the president of the Indonesian Roller Skating Association (Perserosi).
Bunga also won a bronze medal at the Vans Park Series Asia Continental championship in Singapore last month.
She initially aspired to become a doctor, but decided that skateboarding would be her profession of choice and she would like to take part in many championships, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where skateboarding will make its debut.
"My target is to perform at the Olympics," said Bunga with a smile.
Her choice to make skateboarding her career has the support of her parents.
According to Didiet, nothing else would make him happy than seeing his daughter actively practicing the sport she loved with all her heart.
He hoped that the government and Perserosi would carry out sustainable training programs for talented young athletes.
"There are many talented skateboarders in Indonesia. If the training programs are done correctly, Indonesia will not be running out of skateboarders to compete at world championships," he said.
Indonesia head coach Charlie Hobbies said Bunga was the future of Indonesian skateboarding because young skateboarders like her, who are proficient in two categories, were rare.
"We didn’t think she would win," Charlie said.
According to him, he did not expect his young charges to win anything because the team had not set a target to clinch any medals. Apart from Bunga, Indonesia also has another young skateboarder in their ranks -- Aliqqa Novvery who is only 9 years old.
"It's such an incredible achievement for Bunga as a beginner in skateboarding, while her opponents are more experienced and much older than her," Charlie said.Source