2,188 Young Athletes Compete in MilkLife Athletics Challenge Series 2, Kudus Encourages Athletic Regeneration

The Djarum Foundation Sports Dedication and MilkLife have partnered with the Indonesian Athletics Association (PASI) of Kudus Regency to once again organize the MilkLife Athletics Challenge Series 2 2025, which will be held at the Supersoccer Arena in Rendeng, Kudus from Wednesday (November 26th) to Saturday (November 29th). The athletic sports championship was attended by 2,188 students from 184 Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (MI), Elementary Schools (SD), Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs), Junior High Schools (SMP), and Senior High Schools (SMA) from Kudus and surrounding areas.

Unlike the previous series held last June, there is an addition of one age category (KU) and seven race events in the MilkLife Athletics Challenge Series 2 2025. There are now 4 age divisions (U10, U12, U15, and U18) and 22 events being competed in, namely the 60-meter run, 80-meter run, 100-meter run, 400-meter run, 1,000-meter run, 1,500-meter run, 3,000-meter run, 5 x 80-meter relay, 8 x 50-meter mixed relay, 4 x 100-meter relay, 4 x 400-meter mixed relay, 2,000-meter race walk, 3,000-meter race walk, Kanga's Escape team, Formula 1 team, Frog Jump, Turbo Throw, shot put, long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, and triple jump.

Yoppy Rosimin, Program Director of Djarum Foundation's Sports Program, stated that the MilkLife Athletics Challenge aims to provide a fun competitive experience while introducing basic athletic movements from an early age. Beside training physical and technical skills, this event is expected to build positive character traits in the participants such as confidence, sportsmanship, responsibility, and honesty. This is also one of the efforts to maintain the chain of athlete regeneration in athletics, which will bring good achievements at both national and international levels.

"We designed the MilkLife Athletics Challenge race so that students at various educational levels could experience the joy of competing in athletics. Moreover, athletics is the mother of all sports, making it easy to train and learn." This is an interesting experience for the students, which will allow them to delve deeper and achieve impressive accomplishments in the future. "We hope that schools and parents will continue to support these promising young athletes so they can continue to hone their talents," said Yoppy.

The Head of the Coaching and Achievement Division of the Kudus Regency PASI, Noor Akhmad, S.Pd., M.Or., stated that this athletics competition is one of the strategic steps in the process of athlete regeneration and development from an early age. According to Noor, this tiered and continuous coaching effort proves that Kudus is capable of producing talented athletes, including competing in prestigious events such as the 2026 Central Java Provincial Sports Week (Porprov) and the National Student Sports Week (Popnas).

The MilkLife Athletics Challenge provides a platform for Kudus athletes to compete as part of continuous development from elementary/Islamic elementary school, junior high/Islamic junior high school to high school. We encourage athletes to join clubs so that they can hopefully reach higher levels of competition. Because the Kudus team for the upcoming Porprov will also be strengthened by athletes who graduated from the MilkLife Athletics Challenge. "We are grateful to the Djarum Foundation and MilkLife for helping to identify potential talents that can be further nurtured," said Noor.

At the MilkLife Athletics Challenge Series 2 event, also present was the representative of PASI Central Java, Firdaus, who supports the process of developing young athletes in Kudus. Firdaus hopes that this tournament will bring new hope for the emergence of a superior generation of athletes who will eventually bring Kudus' name to a higher level.

Maximum Action in the Athletic Arena

One of the athletes from Kudus participating in the MilkLife Athletics Challenge Series 2 2025 is Irgi Candra Pranata, a 12th-grade student from SMAN 2 Bae Kudus. Competing in the 100-meter, 400-meter, and 4 x 400-meter relay events, Irgi performed brilliantly and successfully brought home two championship trophies. Her best times were in the 400-meter event with a time of 50.57 seconds and the 100-meter sprint with a time of 11.18 seconds. Irgi also achieved good results in several prestigious events, including winning the 4 x 400-meter relay at the 2025 Popnas held in early November. He explained that interval training and muscle strengthening programs are key to improving performance on the track.

It's so exciting and I'm very proud to be competing in the MilkLife Athletics Challenge right now, representing my school. In this championship, I'm measuring my abilities and using it as one of the preparations for the upcoming Porprov (Provincial Games), as I have a target to qualify for the PON (National Games) and contribute to the province of Central Java. For the younger ones, don't let up on your training. "There's no need to be afraid of the opponent, the important thing is to keep your spirits up," said the native of Kudus.

The spirit was also demonstrated by the SMA NU Al Ma'ruf team, which successfully won the overall championship title in the U-18 category with a total of 8 gold, 6 silver, and 4 bronze medals. The SMA NU Al Ma'ruf athletics team, coached by Miqdam Maulana, performed solidly with a strength of 18 athletes. The training over the past 1.5 months was not in vain after positive results were achieved at the MilkLife Athletics Challenge Series 2 2025 event.

"We are enthusiastic about participating in this event organized by the Djarum Foundation, and it is a good step to prepare students from KU 10 to KU 18 so they know the track and the limitations they need to overcome. We want to see the potential of our students and also prepare for the next event. Alhamdulillah, athletics is one of the outstanding extracurricular activities at our school with a significant number of participants, so we provide opportunities for students to participate in various competitions to hone their skills," explained Miqdam.