Get to know Oza, Two-Silver Winner of the 2023 SEA Games from Bandung City

This Finswimming athlete from Bandung has been in the spotlight after breaking the 800 meter surface record with a speed of 3 minutes 28 seconds at the 2022 world championships in Thailand.

"That's the fastest achievement in Indonesia, at least for now," he said in an interview on the Ngariung podcast with Bandung City Public Relations.

Tracing his journey to the 2023 SEA Games medal podium, you could say that Oza is an athlete who has been blessed with various awards in addition to his tenacity. Starting to get serious about water sports when she was in 3rd grade, ups and downs seem to have become close friends in the career journey of this 1999-born woman.

“At first I learned swimming. That's just going with my dad. So, from there I was introduced to the coach, and it seems this coach could see my potential," he recalled.

Dilakoni amateur debut not far from the initial phase of learning. In a swimming competition in the Batununggal area, Bandung City, Oza won bronze.

"From there, as I recall, I became interested in learning to swim further," he said.

In 2010, he tried various championship selections. Starting from the National Championship, Kejurda, and several other events. Unfortunately, he did not get the chance to achieve at that time.

Until finally in 2013, Oza started to pursue Fin Swimming as a sport for him to pursue a career. Even though both are swimming-based water sports, Oza explained that there are differences between the two.

"If swimming, yes we just swim plainly, like that. For fin swimming, we swim with various tools. So it's not diving in the water," he explained.

A year after pursuing this sport, Oza won 3rd place in the relay at the 2014 Provincial Sports Week (Porprov).

After that phase, he diligently took part in regional and national level championships. Porprov 2018 is also recognized by Oza skyrocketing his name thanks to the achievements he made.

First SEA Games, Champion Mentality
Before participating in the 2023 SEA Games, actually Oza had tried to take part in the 2022 SEA Games in Thailand. However, due to his poor health condition, he was dropped and unable to participate in the event.

"I got typhus. Dare to join, but I crossed out, "he said.

Not finished yet, he even took part in the world championship in Thailand in September 2022 ago. Surprisingly, the finswimming record with a distance of 400 meters and 800 meters in Indonesia was broken at that time.

“The record in Indonesia at that time was 3 minutes 29 seconds. I broke it down to 3 minutes 28 seconds," he said.

He also said, basically there are no special requirements to be able to enter Pelatnas to take part in the SEA Games. Oza said, athletes who qualify for Pelatnas are taken based on the athlete's fastest time in a competition.

"So finswimming, what is it, measured sport, that's it. So once I can break the record, I'll be the fastest in Indonesia. Automatically I was brought along (Pelatnas)," he explained.

Even though it didn't occur to him that he would be able to arrive at the Pelatnas point for the 2023 SEA Games, he underwent the quarantine process from September 2022 to May 2023. Various training patterns are involved every day.

"Because this is an international level, and I am also a national athlete, right, so the facilities I get are also extraordinary. I just need to focus on training. It's really tired, very tiring anyway, "explained Oza.

Even so, his fatigue paid off after winning two silver medals at the 2023 SEA Games.

“This is my first SEA Games. So, I can't explain it, I'm really happy," he said.

Perseverance, Persistence, and Confident
Realizing that it is not the only young generation who have the desire to become an athlete, Oza reminded young athletes, especially the City of Bandung, to have perseverance, tenacity, and belief in undergoing training.

He also said that almost all of his time was spent practicing. He barely even had time to play with his friends.

“At dawn, we went down for practice, until 8 in the morning. Practice again at 3pm to 6pm. Practically only have a few minutes during the day to rest. Or at night, even for a while, to chat with family," he explained.

He also experienced ups and downs in his mental condition when participating in quarantine or in the middle of participating in a championship.

Even so, he never lingered in a mental state below. He did various ways to restore his mental condition for the better.

"I call my family at home, or I still take time to leave the house for a while, play, yes, right when I'm on holiday," he explained.

He believes that no effort betrays results. Even though he was in a demotivation phase, Oza felt that this was something natural.

"I used to practice as long as I practiced. The result is up. And it's true, the results are really up to you, not optimal," he explained.

Asked about his plans for the future, Oza said that currently he is pursuing a gold medal in various competitions. In front of his eyes, there is a world championship in China in September, the 2024 National Sports Week (PON), and also the next edition of the SEA Games.

"For now, I want to chase gold (gold) first. After the next SEA Games, I want to register as a soldier," he said.

In closing, Oza invited us to keep up our enthusiasm in pursuing the fields we love. According to him, pleasure alone is not enough to produce maximum results, even for the field that we are passionate about and passionate about.

“So if you really want to pursue something, it's not enough to be happy. There needs to be more effort and we have to prepare mentally," he concluded.

Wargi Bandung, you can watch the Bandung City Public Relations chat with Oza on the Ngariung program, via the Bandung City Diskominfo YouTube channel. (ray)**

Head of the Bandung City Communication and Informatics Agency

 

Yayan A. Brilyana