Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) was trusted to be the host of the Student Regional Sports Week of Central Java (Popda Jateng) for the Taekwondo Branch. The event took place at Satria Sports Center (USS), which was a sports building owned by Udinus. The regional taekwondo competition aimed to facilitate young taekwondo athletes.
The opening was marked by the promises between referees and 225 athletes from 35 cities or regencies in Central Java. The procession was witnessed by the Vice Rector of Student Affairs at Udinus—Prof. Dr. Dra. Kusni Ingsih, M.M., an Executive from the Youth, Sports, and Tourism Service—Syurya Deta Syafrie, S.T., M.T., and the Chief Executive of the Event, Sabeumnin Budi Setyono.
On that occasion, General Brigadier Zainul Bahar, S.H., M.Si., the General Secretary of Central Java Taekwondo Sports Branch, was also present to deliver an opening speech. The entire event started with the sound of taiko on May 23, 2025.
During her speech, Prof. Kusni stated that it wasn’t Udinus’ first time hosting a taekwondo event. This proves that Udinus contributes to the emergence of young taekwondo athletes in Central Java. She hoped that the athletes could eventually represent their cities or regencies on the national level.
“In this month of May, Popda Taekwondo is participated in by junior high and elementary students. This means that Udinus will also host another Popda Taekwondo in July for high school students. We are also open to inviting young athletes to join us, as Udinus is committed to supporting athletes who want to continue their studies,” she emphasized.
Meanwhile, Syurya Deta Syafrie, S.T., M.T., reported that the Regional Student Sports Week (Popda) was an event held by the Youth, Sports, and Tourism Service (Disporapar). This competition aligns with the vision and mission of the Central Java Governor in “ngopeni” (lit. nurturing in Javanese) and “ngelakoni” (lit. doing or conducting in Javanese).
“The government even nurtures these athletes. The existence of this event proves it. Hopefully, these athletes will be under our radar to be further trained so they earn gold medals for both Central Java and Indonesia,” he uttered.
As additional information, Popda lasted from May 23 to 24, 2025, with it also serving as a way to select athletes to compete in the upcoming National Student Sports Week (Popnas). This specific event will be held by the Indonesian Taekwondo Federation.
General Brigadier Zainul Bahar hoped for the support of these taekwondo athletes to cause even more talented taekwondo athletes to emerge. According to him, taekwondo was among the few sports that had grown popular in public.
“Target utama kami adalah agar Jateng dapat menjadi penyumbang medali emas di berbagai ajang, termasuk taekwondo. Terima kasih kepada Udinus yang telah sukses menjadi tuan rumah dan memfasilitasi Popda Taekwondo tahun ini,” pungkasnya. (Humas Udinus/Penulis: Haris. Editor: Nining. Foto: Humas Udinus)
