The Final Round of the Rock Climbing World Cup, Sukma Lintang's True Test

WUJIANG, FRIDAY - Of the four Indonesian lead climbers, only Sukma Lintang Cahyani has made it to the final round of the 2025 Climbing World Cup series in Wujiang, China. Instead of competing with other female climbers, Lintang will be fighting more with herself in that round. Moreover, she has a personal mission to surpass her previous achievements.

Lintang advanced to the final round after scoring 21.66 and securing the 22nd position out of a total of 60 participants in the qualifying round, Friday (25/4/2025). In the qualifying round at the Fenhu Culture and Sports Center, Wujiang, Lintang fell at the 22+ climbing wall point while attempting to move to the 23rd point in the first climbing route. The 20-year-old climber then reached the 39th point while climbing the second route.

Lead is a competition category that tests agility, endurance, and speed on a wall that is three meters wide and up to 15 meters high. The winner is determined by the athlete who reaches the highest point with the fastest time within the 6-minute time allocation. The smaller the number of points obtained, the better the results or ranking obtained by the athlete concerned.

In order to advance to the final round, which begins with the semifinals, lead climbers must be able to occupy the top 24 positions. This number is adjusted to the latest rules that will be enforced starting in 2025. Previously, the number of semifinalists for the lead discipline competition was 26 climbers.

The 2025 World Cup Series in Wujiang will compete in two disciplines, namely lead and speed. In this series, Indonesia sent four rock climbers in the lead discipline.

Another Indonesian female lead climber, Nur Diatul Jannah, could not keep up with Lintang after only finishing 56th. Nur fell while trying to move to points 19 and 22.

Meanwhile, male lead climber Muhammad Rizky Syahrafli Simatupang was ranked 32nd after falling while trying to reach point 37 and reaching point 35 on the second route. Meanwhile, Musauwir was perched in 49th position after falling while trying to move to points 32 and 23.

With that result, Indonesia's representative in the lead discipline only has Lintang left. The real test awaits Lintang in the final round. Because, he must not only surpass the achievements of other climbers, but also exceed his previous achievements.

Before heading to Wujiang, Lintang stated that he carries a mission to reach the finals or the top eight. The climber from Yogyakarta aims to improve his performance from last year's World Cup series in Wujiang. At that time, Lintang was halted in the semifinals or the top 26. "I am determined to start this year with a good result," said Lintang.

To be able to realize that, Lintang will fight with himself to exceed his limits and abilities. Moreover, in the lead discipline, the challenges are more diverse because the climbing route is always different in each round.

Athletes are allowed to view the route during the six-minute collective observation time. However, they are not permitted to attempt the route. Meanwhile, during the qualifying round, athletes do not receive time for observation and are placed in isolation rooms.

On the other hand, Lintang will also face different pressures than before. During 2020-2024, including when competing in Wujiang last year, Lintang was still in the development and building phase of the lead foundation.

Lintang has participated in several international events to gain flying hours and learn from world-class climbers. Starting this year, Lintang and other lead climbers have entered the learning phase to be able to compete in competitions.

Lintang will compete again on Saturday (4/26/2024). He will compete with world-level lead climbers, such as the current world number three, Annie Sanders (United States). Together with Erin McNeice (Great Britain) and Seo Chaehyun (South Korea), Sanders is ranked first after reaching the summit in two climbing routes.