Indonesia's Leica Lubis Eyes Gold in Asian Games Debut After Winning Asian Title

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian karateka Leica Al Humaira Lubis enters her Asian Games debut with confidence, building on her Asian Senior Championship victory as she targets gold in the women’s kumite +68kg at Asia’s biggest multi‑sport event in Aichi–Nagoya, Japan.

"I would rate my confidence at eight out of 10," Leica said in Jakarta on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

The 21-year-old karateka acknowledged that the Asian Games would present a different challenge, as several of her potential opponents have more experience and rank among the world’s elite.

"This happens to be my first Asian Games, and I am competing at a relatively young age. In terms of experience, I may be far behind opponents who are already ranked in the world's top 10, and some are even ranked No. 1. But I am 80 percent confident," she said.

Leica’s confidence is supported by her positive results over the past year. She won gold in the women’s +68kg kumite event at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand after defeating host karateka Songklin Kewalin in the final.

Leica continued her winning run by becoming champion at the 2026 Asian Senior Karate Championship in Bali in June. At the Asian championship, Leica defeated Jordan’s Nara Yaser 6-3 in the final.

On her way to the title, she also overcame Nepal’s Arika Gurung, who is ranked among the world’s top 10.

The Asian title has become important preparation for Leica ahead of the Asian Games and has increased her confidence that she can compete with the continent’s leading karatekas.

According to the World Karate Association (WKF) rankings, Leica is currently ranked 47th in the world in the women’s +68kg kumite category with 870 points.

Leica admitted that the gold‑medal target initially felt like a burden. However, after extensive discussions with her coaches and senior karatekas, she was able to shift her perspective.

“At first, I felt pressured by it, but over time, after many conversations with seniors and coaches, I learned to change the way I see it,” she said.

For Leica, winning the Asian championship is no longer a burden to repeat the achievement. Instead, it has become motivation to prove she can compete at the highest level in the +68kg class in Asia.

"The result at the AKF was not actually a burden for me, but a motivation. It is proof that I can master my class at the Asian level," she continued.

Leica expects the competition at the Asian Games to remain tough. In addition to hosts Japan, she is keeping an eye on karatekas from Kazakhstan, Nepal, Jordan and Vietnam.

Indonesia will field six karatekas at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games: Christopher Elbert Setiabudi in men’s kata, Daniel Hutapea in men’s +84kg kumite, M. Tegar Januar in men’s -55kg kumite, Marzella Sekar Damayanti in women’s kata, Leica in women’s +68kg kumite, and Cok Istri Sanistya Rani in women’s -55kg kumite.

The karate team aims to improve Indonesia’s performance after the sport contributed one bronze medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games through Ignatius Joshua Kandou in the men’s 75kg kumite. ***