Semarang -- A futsal athlete from Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus), Muhammad Al-Bagir, and the Men’s Indonesian Futsal National team successfully secured the gold medal. This spectacular feat led Indonesia to glory at the 21st ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2024 held in Surabaya-Malang on Sunday, June 30th, 2024. 

Al-Bagir and his fellow athletes triumphantly claimed victory over Malaysia with a score of 4-1 at the finale hosted in the Futsal Field of Universitas Negeri Surabaya Lidah Wetan. As a goalkeeper for the Indonesian National team, he only let a goal pass him. 

“Playing on an international level is not easy. This feat is a source of pride for us as this is the first time Indonesia gets a gold medal in futsal,” he stated. 

“Our accomplishment is a product of support given by all parties involved, including our coaches and the academic community at Udinus,” Al-Bagir uttered.

Previously, Indonesia was able to win over East Timor with a score of 6-1 during the semi-final. The team also managed to be victorious during the group stage by defeating Myanmar with a score of 6-1 and Malaysia 3-2. 

Dr. Rindra Yusianto, M.T., the Head of the Student Affairs Bureau at Udinus, also expressed his pride for the newly achieved feat by Muhammad Al-Bagir with his fellow athletes. According to him, this non-academic feat was also a target pursued by the bureau. 

“We always support our students in various fields, including sports. We will grant them scholarships should they win national or international competitions,” he concluded. 

In addition to Muhammad Al-Bagir, other amazing accomplishments brought by athletes from Udinus also fell under the Central Java contingent’s possession. In total, there are five gold medals and three silver medals achieved in various sports branches, including Futsal, Taekwondo, Wall Climbing, Chess, and Karate.