Just Let Go of the Burden, Abiyu Rafi

BANGKOK, KOMPAS - Indonesian artistic gymnast Abiyu Rafi did not perform at his best in the qualification round of the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. However, he still managed to qualify for the finals in his two main events, which are the floor exercise and the pommel horse. If he wants to reach the highest podium, Abiyu must soon release the invisible burden on his shoulders.

At the Gymnasium 5 Stadium of Thammasat University Rangsit, Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday (10/12/2025), Abiyu made his third appearance at the SEA Games. Instead of appearing more relaxed due to his familiarity with the event, he seemed quite tense. "I think I should be more relaxed. Being too tense makes my movements stiff," he said.

The 23-year-old gymnast always distanced herself from the mat while waiting for her turn to perform. She separated herself from the crowd of other athletes, including her coach. While other gymnasts absorbed the atmosphere of the stadium, Abiyu preferred to listen to music through her earphones. Her eyes were sharply focused on the competition apparatus.

The tension was clearly visible in the floor routine qualification. Abiyu immediately made a mistake in the first acrobatic movement. His energy was excessive during the salto, causing him to land imperfectly and go beyond the boundary line. After that mistake, he began to execute the routine movements quite neatly.

Abiyu scored 12.967 in the qualifications. Despite receiving a deduction in points, he was only behind the host representative Surintornta Tikumporn (13.567) and Filipino gymnast Justine Ace De Leon (13.333). "A small mistake like that can cost a lot of points, but he still qualified for the final," said Indonesia's men's artistic gymnastics coach Ferrous One Willyodac.

Abiyu's main apparatus in Thailand is the single bar. He is a silver medalist at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games in that apparatus. However, the great ambition in his heart to perform perfectly turned into a setback. Abiyu became increasingly tense and made a rather fatal mistake while performing on the bar.

His grip momentarily slipped. He almost fell, but ultimately managed to hang on to the bar. As a result, Abiyu only scored 10.933 and ranked 8th. "Because I was too tense, my grip was too tight, which made it slippery; I should have been more relaxed," explained Abiyu.

The error at the single bar resulted in a small tear in the area of Abiyu's thumb. He briefly showed blood at the wound. The athlete was forced to withdraw from the last apparatus, which was the parallel bars. The coaching team was reluctant to take risks as the parallel bars were not a priority for Abiyu.

Fortunately, that was just the qualifying round. Abiyu has the opportunity to make a comeback in the final round. He will compete in the floor final on Thursday, followed by the pommel horse the day after. "For me, the mistakes (in the qualifying round) are actually savings. If I perform well tomorrow, my score could improve," said Ferrous.

If he showcases his best performance in the pommel horse final, Abiyu has the potential to bring home the gold. At the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics World Championship in Jakarta, which has a much stricter judging criteria, he managed to score 12.500. The highest score in the earlier qualification was recorded by Vietnamese gymnast Dinh Phuong Thanh, with a score of 12.800.

On the floor, Abiyu is actually not too far behind the other two competitors. Tikumporn and De Leon are very likely to be caught up with if they make even a slight mistake in the final. The key now lies in Abiyu's hands. "It is still possible, still possible. Hopefully, I can be more relaxed. No need to think too much about the medal," he stated.

The athlete from Riau is determined to improve his performance. He has a special ritual whenever he performs poorly. "I wake up early. Once I feel relaxed, I immediately watch the video. I just repeat it. Usually, after that, I feel calm. I can spend one and a half to two hours watching videos of my previous performances," concluded Abiyu.

It is understandable that Abiyu feels more nervous than usual. In addition to the curiosity of hunting for gold for the first time, he is also undertaking a new role in the "Merah Putih" gymnastics team at this time. He is the mainstay for winning a medal. This burden was not felt in the previous two editions of the SEA Games, in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Previously, Indonesia had female gymnast Rifda Irfanaluthfi, who consistently achieved success at the Southeast Asian level. After Rifda retired in the middle of this year, no one has been able to fill her void in the women's sector. Abiyu, as the best gymnast in the men's sector, has inherited this heavy responsibility.

Two of Abiyu's colleagues, Yudha Satria Tri Wira and Muhammad Aprizal, also successfully reached the finals in their respective events. Yudha will compete in the parallel bars final on Friday. Aprizal will participate in the rings final on Thursday and the vault final on Friday. "We are confident that we will not return empty-handed," asserted Ferrous.

Dear esteemed readers, the Kompas daily has opened a column titled Letters for Athletes, which contains opinions, encouragement, or comments regarding the performance of Indonesian athletes at the SEA Games in Thailand 2025. Please send your brief comments, consisting of a minimum of two sentences and a maximum of six sentences, by filling out the form below. Selected comments will be published in the Kompas daily during the SEA Games 2025.