The Tennis Association of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held another friendly match with the Indonesian diaspora under Singapore’s Indonesian Fun in Tennis (IFiT) club.
The event took place on Saturday (Jan. 18) at the Loyang Valley Tennis Court in Singapore.
The event was officially opened by Sulistijo Djati Ismojo, the Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Singapore.
“This match with UGM is another in a series of friendly matches held by IFiT since its establishment in 2023,” said Ismojo.
Ismojo mentioned that the Indonesian diaspora community, numbering around 200,000, has various associations with shared interests, ranging from tennis to cycling to golf.
Although the tennis community was formed just two years ago, it has already held several matches across various age categories in Singapore. Furthermore, it has also organized tennis matches in several cities in Indonesia, including Bintan, Batam, Jakarta, and Yogyakarta.
“Apart from UGM, alumni communities from UI and ITB have also competed here,” he said.
During the occasion, Ismojo expressed his admiration for the UGM alumni community (Kagama) in Singapore. He stated that the Kagama members were among the most active in organizing activities.
“Kagama Singapore is the most active, and its membership is the largest compared to UI and ITB. There have been several Kagama events here, with around 200 members in Singapore,” he added.
Ismojo hopes that such friendly matches will continue. He said the Indonesian Embassy will continue to support various activities carried out by the Indonesian diaspora communities in Singapore.
“I hope this meeting is not the last and that it can be continued with matches in Yogyakarta. We are always enthusiastic about supporting positive activities that benefit our health,” he said.
The Chair of the UGM Tennis Association, Professor Kuncoro Harto Widodo, expressed his appreciation to the Indonesian Embassy and IFiT for facilitating the friendly match.
“We highly appreciate it. The embassy welcomed our visit, and we were able to meet with Kagama Singapore,” said Professor Widodo.
He added that this friendly tennis match supports UGM’s Health Promoting University (HPU) program and gauges tennis development among UGM staff.
“Therefore, we, the UGM Tennis Association, are conducting a return visit with an international friendly match with IFiT and the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore,” he said.
Eko Kusuma, a representative from IFiT, expressed gratitude to the UGM tennis team for participating in the friendly match.
“Thank you to the UGM team for taking the time to play tennis with us, the Indonesian diaspora in Singapore,” he said.
According to the alumnus of UGM’s Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA UGM), the Indonesian diaspora tennis community is working to collaborate with Indonesian female workers in Singapore, providing practical skill development training such as computer literacy and English courses.
“Many of them take time on weekends to develop new skills so that after their contract ends, they have new practical expertise,” he said.
Kusuma also suggested that UGM might participate in the development of practical skills programs for female workers in Singapore.
“Perhaps there are UGM programs that could be a bridge,” he said.
The UGM Tennis Association team brought 21 players to this friendly tennis match, while IFiT Singapore brought 30. The players competed in 20 games, consisting of men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya