Universitas Indonesia (UI) once again held the Kejuaraan Terbuka Wushu Tingkat Nasional (National Wushu Open Championship), WUGAMES UI 2024, on November 6–10, at Balairung UI, UI Depok Campus. This sports competition, which was held again after the Covid-19 pandemic, provides an opportunity for wushu athletes from all over Indonesia—especially for students—to achieve and showcase their talents at the national level.
According to the UI Wushu Student Activity Unit (UKM) Advisor, Widhyasmaramurti, S.S., M.A. who also competed in the veteran class and won a gold medal, the 6th WUGAMES was attended by more than 700 athletes from 70 gyms from 9 provinces, namely Palembang, Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Bali, and West Kalimantan. “This year, there is an increase from 51 gyms in 2016 to 70 gyms in 2024. The presence of all-star athletes who have experience competing at national and international levels also enlivened this competition as motivation for junior athletes,” she said.
WUGAMES UI 2024 presents the Wushu Taolu and Traditional Wushu categories, where athletes display beautiful and artistic Wushu martial arts movements. With the support of various sponsors and solid cooperation between UI, Pengurus Besar Wushu Indonesia (PBWI), or the Indonesian Wushu Executive Board, and the Komite Olahraga Nasional Indonesia (KONI), or the Indonesian National Sports Committee, this championship is expected to be a gateway for young athletes to achieve national and international achievements.
Head of Division 4 PBWI, Commissioner General. Pol. (Ret.) Drs. Setyo Wasisto, S.H., emphasized the importance of wushu development in Indonesia with a sports science approach and strict supervision of training programs, including aspects of athlete nutrition and health. He said, “PBWI is very serious about developing Indonesian wushu athletes, especially juniors, because they are our hope for the 2032 Olympics. WUGAMES UI is an important event to measure the progress of our junior athletes’ training.”
Three UI Wushu athletes also attained achievements in this event. Raisya Khoiri Sukmana Assalaam won 1st place in four categories at once, namely Chang Quan A Female Student, Daoshu C Female Student, Gun Shu C Female Student, and Other Empty Hand D1 Female. In addition, Asghar Ali Engineer, managed to win 1st place in the Nanquan C Male Student class. Other achievements were also achieved by Aulia Okta Nur Ramadhani, who won 3rd place in the Nanquan C Female Student category and 2nd place in Other Empty Hand Style D1 Female.
Since its establishment in 2010, UKM Wushu UI has been actively developing students’ talents and interests in the field of wushu martial arts. This UKM not only focuses on physical training, but also supports its members to continue to innovate and develop through various competitions and coaching activities. UI Student Affairs Director, Dr. Badrul Munir, S.T., M.Eng.Sc., expressed his gratitude to the government and KONI for their support in developing wushu in Indonesia.
“Wushu sports have the potential to bring Indonesia’s name to the international arena. UI supports this by providing a sports development forum at the Student Activity Center. UI also provides opportunities for high school wushu athletes who excel at the national and international levels to continue their studies at UI through the athlete achievement pathway. This is done as a form of UI’s contribution in supporting the development of superior national wushu athlete seeds through the UI Wushu UKM,” said Dr. Badrul.
