Forged with Military-Style Training, Aziz Hidayat Brings Indonesia Taekwondo General champion

MALANG - The final match of ASEAN University Games (AUG) taekwondo sport took place dramatically on Saturday, July 6, 2024 at Samantha Krida building Brawijaya University, Malang.

The intensity of the running match was revealed directly by Aziz Hidayat Tumakaka, an Indonesian taekwondo athlete who won a gold medal for men's 54Kg. The Match he played until the end of the session became a decisive match for the fate of which country would come out as the general champion in taekwondo sports.

Until the moment he competed, the taekwondo score between the Thai contingent and the Indonesian team was still balanced, so the appearance of this Diponegoro University student was a sight that made the audience do heart rhythms.

The Indonesian and Thai supporters cheered each other on in the audience stands. They kept shouting to encourage their athletes with every punch, kick, and up and down that happened so quickly.

Until the last minute of the match, Aziz Hidayat was able to overthrow Senghapan Ratchapon from Thailand and managed to bring Indonesia out as the general champion for taekwondo sports.

"Alhamdulillah, I am certainly happy to be able to present the best for Indonesia. The support from the coach, officials, teammates, and supporters encouraged me when I was in the arena," he said proudly.

Long before the final match, the round robin system required him to go through days of matches with Thailand and Timor Leste. Even from the first day of the match he felt pessimistic because his opponent was Thailand who had more physical and mental prime than him, making Aziz Hidayat less confident to stand on the arena.

However, as the match progressed, his perspective changed, and with the precision he had acquired during his training, he managed to find a gap in Thailand and win the match. Since then, Hidayat has rediscovered his passion for competition. "Since then, I've improved my skills, my mentality has risen again, and I can strategize for the next match," he says.

For him, Thailand was the strongest opponent, because in terms of physical excellence, technique, and experience made taekwondo athletes from the country of the white elephant dominate at the beginning of the match.

Uniquely, Aziz Hidayat in this sport is an athlete who has minutes of play and matches that are not as many as other professional opponents. He said that the ASEAN University Games was his first competition to show off as a taekwondo athlete.

Starting from the Pre-PON selection, Aziz Hidayat was forged with a fairly dense and hard training pattern. For two months before the AUG, he and the other selected athletes were trained physically, mentally, and technically in Bogor by South Korean Coach Gam Dok Nim Jang.

"We were forged so hard in the military area in Hambalang. In such a place it is not impossible for us to be trained to have a military spirit, because there are materials and military education that are instilled in us," he explained.

The training menu includes endurance and muscle strength tests. There are also several techniques learned such as front kicks, circular kicks, sidekicks, back kicks, and drop kicks. Besides kicks, he also practiced punching techniques including front, back, and face punches.

The training pattern is routinely carried out every day. Starting from waking up at 5am, breakfast at 7am, training at 10am, and resting until 12pm. After that, continue training at 15.00 and daily evaluation at 20.00.

"After this victory, in the future I will continue to improve my performance. I don't want my skills to get stuck or even decline. I must continue to train physically, mentally, and technically so that I can get the opportunity to play at the SEA Games, ASEAN Games, and hopefully qualify for the Olympics," he concluded. (*)

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Reporter: Saputra/AUG PR Team

Editor: @zam*

Photo: AUG PR Team

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