UNAIR NEWS – Pencak Silat team of Universitas Airlangga managed to win bronze medal in the 9th UPSI International Pencak Silat Championship, organized by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Malaysia, March 20-25, 2018. In the championship which was attended by many national team athletes, Vietnamese and Filipino national teams and 44 other contingents from Indonesia and Malaysia. UNAIR delegates won the bronze medal in the Artistic Team Category.
In the championship, UNAIR sent a team from three martial art units, Tapak Suci, Perisadi Diri, and Persaudaraan Setia Hati Teratai (PSHT). There were 17 athletes in total.
“Alhamdulillah, we feel grateful for not going home empty-handed. We can still win medals, though our opponents were professional athletes. National team athletes from various countries with quality far above us, “said Alfiansya Noval Siswanto, manager of the delegation.
Before leaving for Malaysia, candidates for the delegation were selected by organizing a match in every class. Then, the champion in each class was sent as a delegate to Malaysia.
“Preparation for this event was made less than one month. With a short time we optimize the exercise, which was to increase the portion of practice every Monday and Thursday. We practice our techniques more than our physics, “said the UNAIR Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) student.
Before the championship in Malaysia, the UNAIR Pencak Silat team several times won medals in various championships. One of them was being the best team when winning 10 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze medals in the international championship “Pakubumi Open IV 2018 National Asia Europe” in GOR Padjadjaran, Bandung, January 2018.
“Hopefully in the future, UNAIR Pencak Silat team can contribute even more in winning medals for Universitas Airlangga. And, hopefully the quality of Pencak Silat UNAIR team can be further improved in order to become the pride of the alma mater and become the pride of Indonesia, “he concluded. (*)
Author: Binti Q. Masruroh
Editor: Feri Fenoria
