Jayapura – Being disabled has never made Hana Resti feel inferior or hopeless. The table tennis para-athlete, a sport for athletes with disabilities, and achieved many achievements at national and international levels. Thanks to her achievements, she is now a State Civil Apparatus or ASN of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Hana Resti is a disabled athlete who was born in Jayapura on October 21, 1994. Her father is a teacher at the Jayapura Special School (SLB).
As a child, the Toraja-blooded woman never aspired to be an athlete. Hana Resti even admitted that none of her relatives were sportsmen. Resti’s achievements as a table tennis athlete began on the terrace of her house, when she was still in elementary school.
She often played table tennis on a table made by her father. At that time, she even used sandals or books as a bet or table tennis ball beater.
“[I] never thought [of becoming an athlete] at first. I just used to play a lot at home. My parents built a table. At first, I was just playing with a bet made of sandals or books,” Resti told Jubi recently.
Thanks to her father, Resti had the opportunity to take part in the selection to become an athlete for the Yayasan Pembina Olahraga Cacat or YPOC, an institution that has now changed its name to the National Paralympic Committee or NPC Indonesia. It was there that Resti explored her talent as a table tennis para-athlete, and began participating in various championships.
“I first participated in the selection when I was in elementary school. My father taught at the special school. At that time [the name of the institution] NPC Indonesia was still YPOC. [Since then] I started participating in matches,” she said.
Resti then went far in the world of sports. In 2011, she appeared in the National Disabled Students’ Sports Week (now the National Students’ Paralympic Games or Peparpenas) V which took place in Riau Province. At the national multi-sport competition for athletes with disabilities, Resti won a gold medal.
Because of her achievements, Resti then received an offer to join the National Training Center or Pelatnas ASEAN Para Games. At that time, he was still a high school student at Taruna Bakti Jayapura.
Resti then joined the National Pelatnas in Solo, and was immediately trusted to strengthen the Indonesian Para Table Tennis Team in the VI ASEAN Para Games which took place in Indonesia in 2011. In that event, Resti won a silver medal in the T18 women’s singles match and a bronze medal in the T18 doubles match.
“Because there were not many table tennis [athletes] back then, I was offered to join the National Pelatnas. Finally I practiced at Pelatnas Solo, until now,” she said.
Although she has joined Pelatnas, Resti still carries the name of Papua. She became a member of the Papua Peparnas Contingent at the National Paralympic Games or Peparnas XIV Riau 2012. Peparnas is a national multi-sport championship specifically for athletes with disabilities.
Resti made a brilliant achievement. She won the gold medal in the women’s singles T9 classification, and won the silver medal in the mixed doubles T9 classification. “The 2012 Peparnas in Riau was my first Peparnas. [Since then, I have never missed a Peparnas event,” she says.
Until now, Hana Resti is still part of Pelatnas, and is still continuing her career as an athlete. Resti will return to compete in the ASEAN Para Games XIII Thailand in 2025.
