Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) once again held the Martial Arts Championship involving athletes from various grades, junior high, and high schools. The event, initiated by the Martial Arts Unit at Udinus, took place at the Udinus Sports Center recently.

The competition was participated by 500 athletes from various schools in Indonesia. It lasted for three days, from Friday, March 1st, 2024, with Dr. Kusni Ingsih, the Vice Chancellor III of Student Affairs, symbolically opening the whole event. Furthermore, Kuncoro Dwi Wibowo, S.Pd., M.Pd., the General Secretary of the Martial Arts Association (IPSI) of Central Java, also made an appearance. 

Galang Wahyu Nugroho, the Head of the Martial Arts Unit at Udinus, explained that this competition had been hosted twice, with this occasion being the second. Similar to the previous year, this event was also a part of a bigger event, namely, the Dinus Festival (Dinusfest). He further revealed that this competition served as an initial step for them to discover young talented martial artists. In addition, the athletes also showed their utmost enthusiasm for this event. 

“We opened this competition for talented martial artists that are still in grade, junior high, and high school. We did this to oversee their development as martial artists and athletes in general, as well as to find their talents and potential,” he highlighted. 

On that occasion, Dr. Kusni also showed her appreciation to the Martial Arts Unit for holding the event. According to her, the enthusiasm sparked by the athletes was immense as indicated by the total number of returning participants from the first Martial Arts Championship. 

“Dear high school participants, I shall advise you to enroll here at Udinus, as we will reward the winners with tuition cut vouchers. We will also appreciate all of you when you emerge as champions in various national and international competitions,” she uttered. 

Dedication

At the closing ceremony, there was a trophy handover session, with the winners being present at the scene. For additional information, there were also several categories at the Second Martial Arts Championship, including, Children, Pre-teen, Men’s, and Women’s categories. 

One of the participating martial artists, Vito from MAN 2 Semarang, emerged as the grand champion and expressed his pride for his newly accomplished attainment. His months of dedication finally came to fruition at the Second Martial Arts Championship. 

“We almost routinely trained every day for this competition only. There were nine athletes from my school, and they have done their best,” he uttered. 

Meanwhile, Kuncoro Dwi Wibowo, S.Pd., M.Pd., was also present and gave his appreciation to the athletes competing at the Martial Arts Championship. According to him, the competition could be an attempt for the IPSI to evaluate the teachings given by martial arts schools to their students, particularly in Central Java. 

“Hopefully, Udinus will be able to produce many more young talented athletes. I can also see that this competition is participated by numerous athletes from various regions, who also showed their utmost enthusiasm for this event,” he revealed.

At the Second Martial Arts Competition, several prominent figures were also present, namely, H. Joko Santoso, S.E., M.M., (the Head of the Martial Arts Association of Semarang), Dr. Zulkifli, S.Pt., M.M., CGAA., CPHCM., (the General Chairman II of the Sports National Committee of Semarang), Sugeng Dilianto, S.H., (the Head of the Coaching and Accomplishment Affairs at the Youth and Sports Service), and Iptu Agus Mawahib (the Chairman of the Public Coaching Affairs at the West Semarang Police Department). (Humas Udinus/Haris. Foto: Humas Udinus)