The medals hanging around their necks are small markers of a much longer journey. There were countless repeated training sessions, bodies that had to recover and be ready again after exhaustion, and coursework that continued to demand attention even while preparing for the arena.
On the first day of PORSI JAWARA II at UIN K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) Pekalongan, Thursday (9/10/2026), that journey bore fruit in the form of two medals for the UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta contingent, both from the pencak silat (traditional martial arts) branch.
One came from the Women's Doubles Pencak Silat (Artistic) category, through the pairing of Pundari Zuhayka, a student in the Islamic Economics Study Program, Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business, and Lailla Jelita Nur Melaka, a student in the Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Teacher Education Study Program, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Education.
In the arena, the two did not simply perform a sequence of movements. The staff and machete in their hands moved as one, flowing from one motion to the next with measured rhythm. The pair's cohesion, timing, and the beauty of their movements were essential parts of their performance.
That performance carried Pundari and Lailla into the final round. In the end, the pair took home the silver medal.
For Pundari, the result exceeded her initial expectations particularly since the artistic category they competed in carries a very different character from the fighter (sparring) category she had previously known.
"It was beyond expectations. It's very different from fighter. In my opinion, the artistic category is far more difficult, because for three minutes straight we have to keep moving nonstop. The movements are also different from fighter in the artistic category, every movement has to carry an element of beauty," Pundari said.
Preparing for the competition was not a short process either. The pair had to build their chemistry through roughly three months of training together. Every movement had to be memorized and synchronized so their performance would appear as one seamless routine.
Behind that preparation, Pundari saw the university's support as an important part of their readiness, from providing the equipment needed for competition to support throughout training.
"UIN Sunan Kalijaga's support has been incredible, especially when it comes to providing equipment and meeting the athletes' needs," she said.
Reflecting on the silver medal, Lailla chose to see the achievement as more than just a final result. For her, the journey toward the arena was also something worth savoring.
"Let's enjoy the process, not just focus on the result. Winning is a different thing altogether," Lailla said.
She then expressed her gratitude to the university for supporting their preparation, which enabled them to compete at PORSI JAWARA II.
While the silver medal came from the women's doubles category, another medal was earned in the Men's Single Pencak Silat category, through Dimas Kurniawan, a student in the Sociology of Religion Study Program, Faculty of Ushuluddin and Islamic Thought.
For him, the medal won today does not mark an endpoint. Rather, the achievement serves as a reminder that there are still other targets he wants to pursue.
"This is definitely still the beginning, not the end of the road for me. There's still a lot I want to achieve," Dimas said.
He chose to stay focused by savoring every part of the competition process. For him, being in the arena is not only about chasing results, but also about going through each stage as well as possible.
The journey toward PORSI JAWARA II was not entirely easy. Amid preparations as an athlete, his obligations as a student continued as well. Preparing for the competition while it overlapped with his community service program (KKN) left him feeling fairly exhausted at times.
Support from the university was one of the things that helped him get through the preparation period. The availability of training equipment, including mats, allowed his training process to run more smoothly.
In the end, the two pencak silat medals won at PORSI JAWARA II are more than just numbers on a medal tally. Behind them are students who divided their time between lecture halls and training arenas, learning to care for their bodies while keeping their minds focused, all while carrying the name of their university into competition.
The two medals now belong to UIN Sunan Kalijaga. But what remains from the arena is not just the color of the medals they brought home; it is also the conviction that every achievement always carries a story behind it. PORSI JAWARA II still has a long way to go, and the name UIN Sunan Kalijaga is bound to be called out again from the arenas still to come. (humassk)