The success of Muhammad Hafizh, a 2019 student in the Management undergraduate study program at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at Diponegoro University, in winning a gold medal adds to the impressive list of achievements for UNDIP. His success brings honor to Indonesia on the international stage through the prestigious 21st ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2024 in the men’s poomsae (art) team at the taekwondo event. This year, Indonesia had the opportunity to host the AUG, which took place from June 25 to July 6, 2024, in East Java (Surabaya-Malang).
This achievement is a source of pride for Hafizh as a taekwondo athlete born in Yogyakarta on August 18, 2000. He was able to contribute a gold medal and undeniably has proven to achieve many other accomplishments in this sport.
Moreover, Hafizh, along with the men’s poomsae team consisting of Muhammad Rizal (Bina Nusantara University Bogor) and Muhammad Syarif Hidayatullah (STAI Nurul Iman), represented the Indonesian student contingent in the taekwondo event, making it to the finals and successfully competing at Samantha Krida Building, Brawijaya University. The Indonesian contingent in the taekwondo event achieved 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal on Thursday (July 4).
“I feel proud because this is the first time Indonesia’s poomsae team has won first place after a long hiatus, and finally, we can rise again to win gold medals,” exclaimed Hafizh, accompanied by his team.
Hafizh and his team admitted to being inspired by the lively and supportive atmosphere of AUG. They hope this achievement can motivate the younger generation of Indonesian taekwondo to keep training and achieving.
The taekwondo event consists of two main categories: Poomsae (art) and Kyorugi (sparring). Each category has subcategories that are competed in. Nine Southeast Asian countries participated in this event: Brunei, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Timor Leste, and Indonesia.
Despite various challenges, the implementation of the 2024 AUG taekwondo competition ran smoothly and successfully produced new champions. This achievement is evidence that Indonesian taekwondo continues to develop and is ready to compete at a more prestigious international level.
In addition to Taekwondo, the 2024 AUG featured 20 sports, including Futsal, Petanque, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, Sport Climbing, Basketball, Judo, Handball, Wushu, Bridge, Chess, Athletics, Badminton, Archery, Beach Volleyball, Sepak Takraw, pencak silat, and Karate.
The Indonesian student contingent made new history at the 21st AUG 2024 Surabaya-Malang. Overall, the Red and White squad became the overall champion, taking first place with 270 medals, including 113 gold medals, 93 silver medals, and 64 bronze medals. (Friday, July 5).
Meanwhile, the closing ceremony of AUG 2024 was held on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at 19.00 WIB at the Universitas Negeri Malang. (DHW-Public Relations)
