International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences Vol. 14(3), pp. 679 - 693
DOI: 10.13189/saj.2026.140312
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Deep Breathing Relaxation, Anxiety, and Achievement: An Experimental Study on Disabled Archery Athletes

Nada Nadia Salsabila ¹, Boyke Mulyana ¹, Geraldi Novian ^2,*
1 Study Program of Sport Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Education and Health, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia
² Study Program of Sport Physical Coaching, Faculty of Sport Education and Health, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

When facing competitions, athletes with disabilities often experience competitive pressure caused by self-expectations and even team expectations, which can trigger anxiety symptoms. These anxiety symptoms need to be addressed as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will impact the athlete's performance, preventing them from performing at their best during competitions. One method that can be implemented to reduce anxiety and improve the performance of disabled archers is deep breathing relaxation training. Unfortunately, this training method rarely applies to athletes with disabilities, especially in archery. The objective of this research is to rigorously evaluate the efficacy of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation techniques in mitigating the anxiety experienced by athletes with disabilities participating in archery, and to assess the subsequent impact on their performance. An experimental design was employed, wherein a cohort of eight disabled archery athletes underwent a two-month intervention involving structured deep breathing relaxation training, administered thrice weekly. Prior to and following the intervention, participants completed the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) to quantify their anxiety symptomatology, and their archery performance was objectively measured through the recording of shooting scores on a standardised scoring sheet. Statistical analysis of the resultant data was performed utilising the t-test. This investigation's outcomes indicated that deep breathing relaxation techniques profoundly impacted the experimental cohort by substantially diminishing anxiety indicators and augmenting performance metrics among disabled archers. Statistical verification through normality testing confirmed the data's adherence to standard distributional assumptions. Hypothesis assessment showed a statistically notable difference between the evaluations conducted before and after the intervention in the test group. In contrast, no similar notable change was detected in the performance of the control group over the identical time period. The empirical evidence derived from this research substantiates the efficacy of deep breathing relaxation methodologies as a robust intervention for mitigating anxiety and enhancing the competitive capabilities of individuals with disabilities participating in archery. We recommend that coaches and development teams for disabled athletes regularly integrate deep breathing relaxation training into their training programs to maximize athletes' performance during training and competitions.

KEYWORDS
Achievement, Anxiety, Archery Athletes, Deep Breathing Relaxation, Disabled Athletes

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Nada Nadia Salsabila , Boyke Mulyana , Geraldi Novian , "Deep Breathing Relaxation, Anxiety, and Achievement: An Experimental Study on Disabled Archery Athletes," International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 679 - 693, 2026. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2026.140312.

(b). APA Format:
Nada Nadia Salsabila , Boyke Mulyana , Geraldi Novian (2026). Deep Breathing Relaxation, Anxiety, and Achievement: An Experimental Study on Disabled Archery Athletes. International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 14(3), 679 - 693. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2026.140312.