SURAKARTA, Indonesia: Five Indonesian archers who have lost an arm or a leg train together under the bright Central Javan sun, drawing their bows and closing one eye to shoot at targets as they prepare for the Paralympics in Paris this month.
The "magnificent five" are the first archers to ever qualify for the Paralympics from Southeast Asia's biggest country, and they are now training their sights on medals.
"It is history. Simply amazing," Ken Swagumilang, who had his leg amputated due to bone cancer and qualified for the compound men's standing competition, told AFP in Surakarta city.
The group of archers are aiming to carve out their own legacy with family and government support.
The five men and women -- in both standing and wheelchair categories -- will compete in the recurve and compound archery brackets.
"It's not just one or two athletes, it's five, imagine. It's the first time, and five athletes will compete," said Ken.
The 2022 Asian Para Games bronze medallist, who now stands on a prosthetic leg, sees a Paralympic semi-final as his realistic ambition, but dreams bigger.
"Who doesn't want to win a gold medal?" he said.
Years of hard work have strengthened their bodies to draw the bow and shoot arrows with high levels of accuracy.
And their optimism has risen after bagging two golds at the Para-Archery World Ranking Event in the Czech Republic in June and two archery bronzes at the 2022 Asian Para Games.