SLEMAN - Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta (UPNVY) held another Pencak Silat (martial arts) National Championship between universities. This martial arts event which is the X is competing for the Republic of Indonesia's (RI) presidential trophy. The National Championship is held in the W. R. Supratman Auditorium Building from 10 - 16 February 2020.

Carrying the theme of "Growing a Sense of Nationalism and Preserving Nation's Cultural Diversity through Pencak Silat", no less than 341 pesilat  (atheletes) from 51 contingents come from various regions in the country competing to be the best.

The UPNVY Chancellor, Mohamad Irhas Effendi, hopes that the championship which will last onFebruary 16 runs smoothly.

"The existence of pencak silat is one of ways to preserve the science and martial arts of pencak silat, which means also to preserve the national culture that is competing with other foreign martial arts in Indonesia", he said while giving a speech.

The Chancellor conveyed that the martial arts can strengthen the brotherhood and realize the spirit of patriotism. Pencak silat, according to him, is the character and national identity to achieve a safe and prosperous society.

"After this championship, we hope we can find new athletes who can make the nation proud." he concluded.

On this occasion, there also present Plt. Director General of Higher Education, Prof. Ir. Nizam, Ph.D. Other than giving a speech, he also had the opportunity to open the event directly.

In his remarks, Nizam conveyed one of the government focuses in the next five years is to develop human resources (HR). According to him, the way to build quality human resources is through sports, one of them is martial arts.

He also stated that there are five important aspects in pencak silat namely building a superior spirit, art and culture, religiosity, forming character in the development and preservation of the nation's culture, and building brotherhood among students.

"The implementation of the Pencak Silat National Championship between these students id not only compete for the championship, but it also build the fraternity between students from all over Indonesia. Show your achievements, your sportsmanship, and keep on building brotherhood among students from universities in the country", close Nizam. (wwj / PR)