UIR students have once again achieved success, this time in the non-academic field of sports. Geofanny and Maulana, students of the Faculty of Communication and Faculty of Islamic Studies, successfully won Gold at the Provincial Championship (Kejuaraan Provinsi) in Riau for Petanque in the Double Man category, representing the Rokan Hulu regency. The event took place at the Petanque Venue of the Islamic University of Riau during the three-day championship from July 15 to July 17, 2022.
During an interview with the UIR Public Relations Team, Geofanny, one of the students who won Gold and also a student of the Communication Science Program at UIR, expressed his joy at winning Gold at the 2022 Petanque Provincial Championship.
“Alhamdulillah, I am very grateful and honestly did not expect to win the gold medal at first, because this is my first time participating in a Petanque competition,” said Geofanny.
The sixth-semester student, currently pursuing his education, also mentioned that he had thoroughly prepared for the provincial championship for almost several months before the competition.
“Because participating in the Petanque championship is my first time, so regarding this competition, I have been preparing mentally and physically for a long time. For the mental aspect, I am already used to it because I am also active in Sepak Takraw and used to competing in this sport up to the POPDA level. Maybe that’s what added to my confidence in this competition,” he said.
It is worth noting that Petanque is a relatively new sport in Indonesia. The sport entered Indonesia in the early 2000s under the guidance of French expatriates and was initially limited to a small community. It was only in 2011, when Indonesia hosted the SEA Games, that Petanque became a mandatory sport in regional, national, and organizational competitions. The organization overseeing this sport is FOPI (Federasi Olahraga Petanque Indonesia), founded in March 2011.
When asked about his motivation to explore Petanque, Geofanny explained that Petanque is a new and growing sport in Indonesia, sparking his curiosity to delve into it.
“Seeing that this sport is also new, and the venue is on our campus, I feel it’s a shame not to try to delve into this sport and waste the available facilities,” he said.
Next, the focus of Geofanny, originally from Desa Rambah Hilir, and his partner Maulana will be on preparing themselves physically and with extra training to compete in the upcoming Pekan Olahraga Provinsi (Provincial Sports Week) in Kuantan Singingi regency. They also aim to qualify for the Pekan Olahraga Mahasiswa Nasional (National Student Sports Week) in West Sumatra.
“My hope is that as Petanque athletes who will fight for Rokan Hulu in the future, we can be provided with centralized training to focus more on preparing for the competition. Additionally, support, especially in terms of facilities such as training fields and balls for each athlete, is needed to boost our motivation to train, as well as health facilities to ensure maximum fitness during competitions. Furthermore, our hope is for cooperation between the Sports Department (DISPORA) and UIR to better support us, UIR students who are also athletes, in achieving more accomplishments,” he concluded (kh/khk).
