UNS — A glorious achievement was made by a Pencak Silat fighter from Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Khoirudin Mustakim. The student of the Faculty of Sport (FKOR) UNS won a silver medal at the Sea Games 31 Vietnam in Pencak Silat class B for 50-55 kg weight. In the final, Mustakim lost marginally to Malaysian Pencak Silat athlete with a final score of 49-50. Mustakim is grateful for this silver medal. However, he claimed he was still not satisfied with the results he had obtained. “I am grateful for these results, and perhaps it is not yet my turn to win a gold medal. Indeed, I was disappointed because I had led the score but made a mistake. Hopefully, in the next championship, I can give better results,” he said.
In the final against Malaysian martial artists, Mustakim had a lead score in the first and second half. In the decisive round, the third half, Mustakim also had a 9-point lead. However, due to a mistake made, Mustakim must receive a point deduction. Until the last second, even after he had tried all his Pencak Silat skills, his points remained one point behind the Malaysian athlete. “At the beginning, I had 9 points ahead, however, because of that 10-point reduction, the point was reversed, and I was left one point behind. When I wanted to close the point, the Malaysian contender kept on stalling to delay the time. I attacked, and he went outside the game arena, this happened twice, so, until time ran out, the points remained,” Mustakim explained.
Five Months Preparation
Mustakim’s journey to be selected as a representative in the Indonesian Pencak Silat team at Sea Games 31 was quite long. In 2021, Mustakim won gold in XX PON in Papua. Being a PON champion does not directly place Mustakim as the representative of Indonesia. This student from Klaten Regency must take special selection among other national athletes. In the special election held in December 2021, Mustakim won and was finally selected as the representative of Indonesia at the Sea Games 2021. After being selected, Mustakim underwent a centralized training and preparation at Padepokan Pencak Silat TMII, Jakarta. He was quarantined for five months before competing in Vietnam.
At the moment, Mustakim is preparing to take part in the world Pencak Silat championship, which is planned to be held in Malaysia mid of this year. In addition, he also focused on preparing for the Sea Games 2023 in Cambodia. Students of the 2018 class hope to get the best results in the two championships. It would be a beautiful gift for his beloved university. “For the future, I will prepare for the Sea Games Cambodia in 2023 and prepare for the world championship in Malaysia, since in three months, there will be a World Championship in Malaysia. I am preparing for the world championship first because it was the closest championship,” said Mustakim.
Congratulations, Mustakim! Hopefully, there will be another glorious achievement for Indonesia in the next championships. Humas UNS
Reporter: Ida Fitriyah
Editor: Dwi Hastuti