Three Indonesian Lead Climbers "Dance" to World Cup Semifinals

BADUNG, KOMPAS — Although it did not match or exceed its previous achievement as host, the Indonesian lead team managed to place three representatives in the semifinals of the 2025 Bali Rock Climbing World Cup series. The three climbers reaped the rewards of a calm and flexible performance as if they were dancing. This performance raised hopes of advancing to the final round.

The three Indonesian climbers are Putra Tri Ramadani, Raviandi Ramadhan, and M Rizky Simatupang. Putra and his companions secured tickets to the semifinals after ranking in the top 24 of the qualifying round held at Peninsula Island in the Nusa Dua area, Badung, Bali, on Friday (2/5/2025).

Putra occupies the eighth position with 10.82 points, Raviandi is in the twelfth position with 13.28 points, and Rizki is ranked twenty-fourth with 20.51 points. The smaller the points accumulated by the climbers, the higher their position on the ranking list.

"I'm so happy to be able to qualify for the semifinals. Actually, I wasn't 100 percent yet, it was annoying because I should have performed better. In the semifinals, I have to be 100 percent," said Putra with a smile.

Putra's qualification to the semifinals is a positive thing amidst the results of the lead team which were actually not very good. The indication is that the number of climbers who qualified for the semifinals is not more than the total number of Indonesian representatives during the 2022 World Cup series in Jakarta.

At that time, Indonesia was able to place five representatives, four male climbers and one female climber. In Bali, not a single Indonesian female climber advanced to the semifinals.

Sukma Lintang Cahyani, who achieved an impressive ranking by finishing 18th in the Wujiang series last week, was eliminated earlier than expected. Lintang finished in 28th place in the qualification round.

The male climber, Musauwir, was also unable to replicate his achievements in Jakarta after only managing to secure the 27th position. His standing was indeed not secure despite having briefly been in the top 24. This is because other climbers were able to ascend higher, thereby improving their rankings and displacing Musauwir.

Ravianto Ramadhan, the twin of Raviandi, even fell to the 42nd position after not performing optimally in two routes. In Jakarta, however, Ravianto was able to secure the 14th rank.

Meanwhile, Putra has shown an improvement in performance since his debut at the World Cup three years ago. The climber, who was recently called up to the national training camp in early 2025, was able to showcase his skills after previously only being able to secure the 31st position.

In Bali, Putra is determined to advance further to reach the final or the quarter-finals. "Indeed, a good result is reaching the semi-finals in the second World Cup, but I do not want to settle for just the semi-finals; I must be able to reach the final," said the 19-year-old athlete.

A similar determination was expressed by Raviandi. Moreover, Raviandi has proven that advancing to the final round of the World Cup series is not an impossible feat for Indonesian climbers.

Raviandi had made it to the final round during the 2022 World Cup series in Jakarta. That achievement made Raviandi make history as the first Indonesian lead climber to make it to that round.

"Of course, it boosts my confidence; I am sure I can go further. Moreover, we Indonesian climbers benefit from the hot weather; we are accustomed to it, unlike climbers from other regions. I hope to perform better in the semifinals and reach the finals again," said the climber commonly known as Andi.

Andi also stated that the male climbers were confident that they would all advance to the semifinals. They were not hindered by the weather. When they began climbing at 14:00 WITA, the weather in Bali was clear with temperatures reaching 28 degrees Celsius.

In addition to being able to handle the weather, they suspect they can climb high on route one. The qualifying round competition was conducted in two climbing sessions with two different routes.

However, it turns out that on route one, Indonesian climbers faced difficulties and ultimately fell. Raviandi, for example, fell while attempting to reach the 31st hold.

However, Raviandi and Putra performed convincingly, briefly occupying the top five rankings after completing one of the climbing routes. Putra displayed fluid movements as if dancing on the climbing wall. The same was true for Raviandi.

Lead is indeed a discipline in rock climbing that requires flexibility. Not only that, this discipline also requires endurance, agility, and speed. Because, the winner is determined by the athlete who reaches the highest point with the fastest time in the 6-minute time allocation.

Meanwhile, the agile movements and minimal errors also allowed Putra to reach the 36th hold on the second route. Putra had already covered the last five meters to reach the summit. However, the gold medalist at the IFSC Youth Asian Championships Jamshedpur 2024 fell while attempting to transition to the 37th hold.

The manager of the Indonesian climbing team, M Rizali Umarella, expressed gratitude for the impressive performances of the Indonesian climbers, particularly Raviandi, Putra, and Rizky. According to Rizali, although it was not the best result, having three representatives in the semifinals is still a commendable achievement.

"These three climbers are indeed in their best form. I hope they can maintain it during the semifinals, or even surpass it," said Rizali.

The semifinals and finals will be held on Sunday (4/5/2025) starting at 10:00 WITA. Meanwhile, on Saturday (3/5/2025), the 2025 Bali World Cup series will hold a speed discipline competition.