UNAIR NEWS – Baiq Elma Purnamawadita, a student of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Airlangga (FH UNAIR) won a gold medal at the Bandung International E-Poomsae Tournament held on June 26-27, 2021.
The event organized by the Executive Board of Taekwondo Indonesia (PBTI) is an international level championship attended by 1850 participants from 16 countries from all over the world. In the competition, Elma won the Poomsae Pair Under 30 category with her younger sibling.
Practicing hard for two months for this tournament, Elma admitted that she missed competing after more than a year with no competitions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “When we heard about this tournament, my team and I were excited to register and practice,” said the student who has been practicing Taekwondo since 2009.
Poomsae is a Taekwondo sports branch whose judging is based on expression, movement accuracy, and timeliness. Since it is still affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Poomsae tournament is held online and can be watched via live stream on the “Indonesia Sport Event” YouTube channel.
After winning the gold medal in the tournament, Elma is now preparing to participate in the same category in the 2021 Gorontalo International Virtual Championship held on September 4-5, 2021. “Next year, I will also participate in PORPROV (Provincial Sports Week) as the last championship at the age of twenty-one. Then, I will have a career as a coach to produce a generation that brings Indonesia to the international level,” she said.
The student, a member of the Indonesian Taekwondo Board of Probolinggo City, hoped that her journey as an athlete would be smooth. “Hopefully, I can continue to excel in future events so that I can make my city and country proud in the international arena,” she explained.
Elma also advised other students to continue to be productive and disciplined and try every opportunity. “We as students must always be productive and never get carried away. We have to be hard on ourselves, so life isn’t harsh on us,” she concluded.
Author: Stefanny Elly
Editor : Khefti Al Mawalia (YA/AP)
