He stated that one of the hardest consequences he faced was leaving his two children temporarily so he could focus on training and competing for the Red and White.
"Sometimes I feel sad, because every time I call, my children always ask when I'll pick them up and I can only tell them to be patient while they're being looked after at their grandparents' house," said Sella, full of emotion, during a training session at the Indonesian Paralympic Training Center (PPPI), Delingan, Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, on Monday.
She stated that she had to endure this situation because she and her husband both had the status of national table tennis athletes, who were preparing for the largest multi- sport event in Southeast Asia.
The athlete from East Kalimantan said that family support was the main strength for him to persevere through the long and tiring preparation period.
According to Sella, the motivation to achieve the highest achievement actually came from within herself, as an athlete who wanted to give the best results for Indonesia.
He is targeting to win another gold medal even though the competition at the APG Thailand is predicted to be tighter, especially in the TT10 and class 10 (standing) classifications, in the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles events.
"The competition is much tougher now because there are many new athletes, including from the host country, but I certainly don't want to lose," he said.
The 2025 edition will be Sella's fifth ASEAN Para Games since her debut in 2011. In the last two editions, namely in Cambodia and Indonesia or Solo City, she successfully contributed four gold medals each from the singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and team events.
However, in the upcoming edition, the team event will not be contested so only three events can be entered.
Dozens of Indonesian table tennis athletes train in preparation for the 2025 ASEAN Para Games in Thailand at the Indonesian Paralympic Training Center (PPPI) in Delingan, Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, on Monday (January 12, 2026). ANTARA/Donny Aditra
Sella emphasized that each edition of the APG always presents its own challenges, ranging from intensive training to studying videos of potential opponents as part of the pre-match technical evaluation.
