Diponegoro University’s academic community is proud of the joyful news of the achievements of three UNDIP students who won gold medals in the men’s team kata category of Karate at the 21st ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2024. The students are Firman Maulana Kurniawan from the Faculty of Law (2023), Akmal Farouq from the Faculty of Economics and Business (2020), and Ahmad Reihan Alavi from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics (2021). They are the best athletes in the Indonesian student contingent team who competed until the final round and successfully defeated the Malaysian team in the karate competition held from July 4-6, 2024, at the Bundar Hall, Universitas Islam Malang (UNISMA).
Firman, as the captain of the men’s team kata category from UNDIP, stated that AUG 2024 was a valuable experience for him and his friends, as it was their first time being part of the senior national karate team and representing UNDIP with the Garuda emblem on their chest.
“It was a very memorable experience in the final against the Malaysian team, which has proven to be very experienced, while we were debutants in the national team. We felt all the tension and fear, but we remembered everything we had fought for to get to that point,” explained Firman. Finally, Firman and his team were able to refocus and win the final match with a score of 40.8, defeating the Malaysian team, which scored 40.2.
Firman and his team are deeply appreciative of the opportunity at AUG 2024. “We owe our success to our parents, who have been our pillars of strength, and our coaches, who have constantly pushed us to be our best,” he expressed.
Firman’s success with his team must be supported by the national team coach and the coach who developed them from scratch at UNDIP, Ivan Taher, an alumnus of the Faculty of Law in 2018 and a former national team athlete. Coach Ivan always trained them, provided many inputs, and shared his experiences to make them strong in the national team. He firmly believes in becoming a champion and bringing honor to Indonesia and Diponegoro University.
“For this competition, the three of us have been preparing since the end of April by training independently on campus, then in mid-June, we joined a training camp at Abdulrahman Saleh Air Base until the time of the competition,” revealed Firman.
Firman and his team acknowledged that despite the many challenges they faced during the AUG 2024 competition, they continued to rise from setbacks because there is always a second chance for those who strive. “No matter how many times you fall, the most important thing is how quickly you get back up and achieve the goal that has been fought for together with friends,” he said passionately.
The Indonesian Student Karate Contingent Team emerged as the overall champions, successfully dominating and securing the top position in the final standings with a total of 10 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 6 bronze medals at AUG 2024. (DHW-Public Relations)
