The sound of tennis balls bouncing off rackets and the squeak of shoes echoed across the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Tennis Court on Sunday (Nov. 16), fueling the excitement of the Pekan Olahraga dan Seni Universitas Gadjah Mada (Porsenigama) 2025. Despite competing under the blazing sun, the athletes gave their all through four sets. Ultimately, the Faculty of Psychology (Psychology UGM) emerged victorious, bringing home three gold medals in Mixed Doubles, Women’s Singles, and Men’s Doubles. Close behind, the Faculty of Engineering (FT UGM) secured a gold in Women’s Doubles, while the UGM Faculty of Law (FH UGM) clinched the gold in Men’s Singles.
Porsenigama is the much-anticipated sports and arts week for UGM students. Held over more than a month (October 18-November 29), the event features 23 sports branches and 14 artistic disciplines, with tennis among the most popular.
The tennis competition ran for two days, Saturday and Sunday (November 15-16), and included five categories: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles, Men’s Doubles, and Women’s Doubles. A total of 8 gold, 8 silver, and 28 bronze medals were contested.
Intan Kirana Maharani, Chair of the Sports Branch Committee from the UGM Tennis Student Activity Unit (UKM), beamed with joy.
She was thrilled to see so many new faces from diverse faculties participating this year. Compared to previous editions, the number of participants rose significantly: 70 players competed in the tennis tournament, 19 of whom played in the Men’s Singles category.
“Men’s Singles had the most participants, and this year the increase came from various faculties. Some faculties that didn’t send any athletes before now sent up to five,” said Maharani, a 2023 student from the Public Policy and Management Program.
Summarizing participants’ feedback, Maharani shared that one competitor confessed they had prepared by training for 2-3 months just to take part in the tournament.
According to her, Porsenigama helps motivate students who are, after all, competitors, to continue developing their talents and interests, especially in tennis.
“This shows their earnestness in preparing themselves and their readiness to compete healthily,” she explained.
Maharani further noted that UGM’s Tennis team often competes in other cities and consistently wins medals. These achievements are a great source of pride.
She hopes that in the coming years, new talents will continue to emerge, ones who will carry forward, or even surpass, the legacy of their predecessors.
“We hope that those in UKM will keep making UGM proud. Eventually, we will graduate, but new athletes should come in fresh, curious, always eager to learn, and even better than before,” she expressed.
Author: Leony
Editor: Agung Nugroho
Post-Editor: Lintang Andwyna
Photographs: Porsenigama 2025