Octavia busy 2022 laying foundation for future

Indonesia’s Rezza Octavia has had a busy 2022.

The 21-year-old, Sanlida world number 42 recurve woman, has competed at two stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit, the South East Asian Games, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations University Games and the Islamic Solidarity Games. That list excludes local, provincial and national competitions at home.

Her appearance in the first stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Türkiye was her debut on the prestigious global circuit.

Appearing in both the recurve women’s individual and mixed team events in Antalya in April, she went out in the first round of the mixed team event with partner Alviyanto Bagas Prastyadi to Poland but impressed in the individual competition.

First up, she beat Urska Cavic in straight sets before moving on to defeat Elia Canales and Tatiana Andreoli. She then succumbed to eventual stage winner, Bryony Pitman, in the quarterfinals.

"It was really fun," said Octavia, from her home in Bojonegoro, about her first Hyundai Archery World Cup experience.

"To be able to meet world class archers and even compete with them, plus mental management during individual matches, I really learned a lot from my first world cup experience. I was also nervous at that time, but I tried to stay focused on myself and finish my shots well."

"Despite losing (against Pitman), I was quite satisfied with the result, it was a very valuable experience for me. I did it with a lot of preparation beforehand, such as adjustment of time and climate, but, actually, Antalya was a warm-up event before I went to the SEA Games, so I really enjoyed every round; from the qualifiers, through to the mixed team and individual matches."

Her sixth-place finish in Türkiye stood her in good stead for the SEA Games in Vietnam, which took place at the same time as the second stage of the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup, in Gwangju, Korea.

In Hanoi, Octavia went in as one of the strong favourites (she is currently ranked 14th in Asia, behind archers from Korea, Japan, India and Japan) and lived up to her billing, winning individual gold as well as gold in the mixed team event with the experienced Riau Salsabilla, who has appeared at two Olympic Games (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020) and who has won three Hyundai Archery World Cup medals.

"I practised so hard before and, finally, even though the competition was very fierce and tight, I shot happily and calmly and got the desired result," said Octavia about her double gold in Hanoi.

The third stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in Paris was next, with Octavia winning her first three matches again Lucilla Boari, Sarah Haywood and Ane Marcelle Dos Santos.

Again, a quarterfinal loss followed, with Chinese Taipei’s Peng Chia-Mao handing her a comprehensive straight-set loss on her way to silver.

The results from her two stage appearances on the circuit saw Octavia finish in 14th in the 2022 Hyundai Archery World Cup Rankings, missing out on a World Cup Final place in Mexico.

"In Paris, I was stopped in the quarterfinals and lost to Chinese Taipei but it was an amazing experience for me," she explained.

"I will try to do better, but this world cup season has been very exciting and I got a lot of interesting experiences to review."

The ASEAN University Games then followed from 26 July to 6 August in Thailand, where Octavia won individual gold and mixed team bronze with Arif Pangestu, before the Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkiye, which also featured para archery and Turkish traditional archery.

Individually, Octavia ended with bronze, behind Gulnaz Coskun (silver) and Yasemin Anagoz (gold), in the women’s team event she earned silver, losing to Türkiye in the final, but, most impressively, along with Salsabilla, they saw off Anagoz and Olympic Champion Mete Gazoz on home soil, winning mixed team gold.

"The competition was fierce and tough, and definitely a lot of fun," said Octavia about her experience in Konya. "I was a little nervous too but I tried to control myself, focus on myself; try to do every shot well."

The experience of 30-year-old Salsabilla, currently sitting 88th in the recurve men’s world ranking, had the desired effect on Octavia throughout the season, but especially in Türkiye earlier this month.

"He is very calm when shooting and believes that I can shoot well," explained Octavia. "It makes me more confident in shooting, he is a good senior."

"[Riau] is a caring senior figure," she added. "We like to joke with old jokes and laugh together when time is loose or during breaks. When shooting together in mixed team he is very calming, and usually he says something in Indonesian like ‘ayo sa iso, tutup 10’, which means "c’mon sa, you can do it, shoot 10’."

"During the Islamic Solidarity Games, I felt uncomfortable because of the hot air and strong winds, and during qualification I felt I lost my timing when shooting arrows, but luckily, our coach was quick to respond so the error could be corrected immediately." 

2022 marks the 13th year since Octavia picked up a bow for the first time, when she nine years old, in Bojonegoro, a regency in East Java, Indonesia.

She joined the national team in 2020 and now, she shoots for Papua, a different regency in the country.

"At that time I just wanted to fill my spare time," explained Octavia about why she started the sport.

"But it turned out that archery was as fun as it was; training helped with controlling emotions and concentration, and because my mother fully supported me being an archery athlete, I continued well until now. "

"I like the practice of self-control," added Octavia about why she loves the sport. "[But] the feeling of pleasure when the arrow goes right into the centre of the target; it makes me feel happy and I want to repeat it over and over, like an endless curiosity."

As 2022 enters its final quarter, Octavia is looking forward to progressing her career even further, with an eye on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and to follow in the footsteps of Indonesian archers who have appeared at the multisport event, just like fellow Bojonegoro athlete, Rina Dewi Puspitasari.

"This year I am very grateful for the many experiences I have gained in various archery events and the rest of this year I will train even harder [than before]," said Octavia.

"Archery in Indonesia has progressed quite a bit. There are many archery clubs and young athletes.  I hope next year that all events run smoothly. We will train for events such as the Asian Games and Paris 2024 qualification. I want to get the best results and an Olympic ticket. I want to compete there, because in 2021 I failed to get one."

Follow Rezza on Instagram.

Islamic Solidarity Games – Konya 2022 photos courtesy of Saygin Kinci / Türkiye Okçuluk Federasyonu.

Medal photo courtesy of Rezza Octavia.