HUMAS USU – Universitas Sumatera Utara expressed its appreciation to the USU Taekwondo Student Activity Unit (UKM Taekwondo USU) for its achievements at the 9th Gewinn Malaysia Open Taekwondo Championship 2026. The appreciation event took place at the Office of the Directorate of Student Affairs and Alumni (Ditmawalumni) USU on Tuesday (19/05/2026).

At the championship, the USU student contingent successfully brought home 11 gold medals, 6 silver medals, and 5 bronze medals. This achievement became a source of pride for Universitas Sumatera Utara on the international stage.

The Secretary of the Directorate of Student Affairs and Alumni USU, Dr. Fatwa Imelda, S.Kep., Ns., M.Biomed., expressed appreciation to all athletes who had fought to bring honor to the university. She hoped this accomplishment would motivate other students to continue achieving excellence.

Regarding the student development process, she explained that the Taekwondo Student Activity Unit receives special mentoring and training from the university.

“Through our Ditmawalumni team, Taekwondo has its own student organization unit. They have dedicated coaches and a structured development program. Training sessions are held five times a week, especially when preparing for competitions,” she explained.

Similarly, the Coordinator of the USU Student Achievement Center (Puspresma), M. Iqbal Lubis, stated that this success proves USU students are capable of competing internationally, particularly in sports.

“Hopefully, more students will become interested in joining competitions and participating in student activity units because the opportunities to achieve success are very significant,” he said.

The Head of UKM Taekwondo USU, Harpindo Ginting, stated that the results achieved were the outcome of consistent training, strong university support, and the hard work of the entire team throughout the preparation period.

“First of all, it starts with intention—deciding in which field we want to develop our achievements. If we may not excel academically, we can still achieve in non-academic fields. We balance our consistency in training and academics by creating schedules and timelines. Since classes run from morning until evening, after class we usually only have enough time to go home, change clothes, and continue training,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Vice Head of UKM Taekwondo USU, Feldicio Ginting, hoped that this achievement would motivate other students to continue bringing pride to USU and encourage future accomplishments in upcoming competitions. He also encouraged students to keep trying and never give up in pursuing achievements.

“Never give up easily. Whatever the result is, we must accept it and turn it into motivation. If we experience defeat, we should accept it and use it as motivation to become winners in the future,” he concluded.