A total of 550 Indonesian martial artists fought to garner the champion title at the 2023 Pencak Silat Championship hosted by Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus). The competition was mainly aimed at grade, middle, and high school students.
The 2023 Pencak Silat Championship took place at the Udinus Sports Center (USC) from January 23rd to 26th, 2023. It was organized by the Martial Artist Community at Udinus. Dr. Kusni Ingsih, the Vice Chancellor III of Student Affairs, was also present alongside Basuki Suprapto (a representative from the Youth and Sports Service of Semaran) and Zulkifli (the Secretary of the Indonesian Martial Arts Association).
Eko Prasetyo (the Head of the Martial Arts Community at Udinus) explained that this newly debuted event involved athletes from various cities in Central Java. According to Eko, the competition was held to garner young talented athletes. In addition, he also did not expect to see the enthusiasm sparked by the participants and the general public.
“In addition to high school students, we also dedicate this event to grade school and middle school students, allowing them to see their potential career as martial artists in the future. Thus, they will later be able to further hone their skills by the time they enter high school,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Zulkifli expressed his gratitude to Udinus for hosting the 2023 Pencak Silat Championship as a form of coaching aimed at young athletes from Semarang. This competition also served as a means for them to be informed about talented young martial artists in Central Java, particularly Semarang.
“There will be young talents discovered through this event, Hopefully, they can routinely host this annual event, and we, from the Indonesian Martial Arts Association, would gladly help,” he emphasized.
The 2023 Dinus Festival Was Participated by 5124 Participants
The 2023 Pencak Silat Championship is among many competitions featured at the 2023 Dinus Festival (Dinusfest). In total, there are 5124 participants enlivening the 2023 Dinusfest. Those 5124 students participated in all 63 contest categories featured in this prestigious event. Those categories may include sports, scientific papers, and arts. The 2023 Dinusfest was opened from January 18th to 29th, 2023.
At the opening of the 2023 Dinusfest, Dr. Kusni Ingsih, M.M. (the Vice Chancellor III of Student Affairs) warmly welcomed the beginning of this event. This event could essentially act as a means for students to hone their skills in sports, arts, and writing scientific papers. In addition, the participants also consisted of students from many different regions in Indonesia, namely, Medan, Makassar, Pontianak, Denpasar, Jakarta, Surabaya, and Semarang. In comparison to previous years, the number of participants saw a drastic increase due to the end of the pandemic.
“We would like to create a stage for students to unleash their creativity through a fair competition. Thus, they can also learn many more things in addition to general knowledge in classrooms,” she concluded. (Humas Udinus/Alex. Foto: Humas Udinus)
