Semen Baturaja Tennis Championship 2025 Officially Opened, Encouraging Interest in Tennis Among OKU Raya Students

BATURAJA – PT Semen Baturaja Tbk (SMBR) as a subsidiary of PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SIG) officially held the Semen Baturaja Tennis Championship 2025 — a tennis tournament for school age groups in OKU Raya Regency.

The activity, which was held for two days (11-12 May 2025) by the Semen Baturaja Sports, Spirituality & Arts Development Agency (Baporkes SMBR) in collaboration with the Indonesian Lawn Tennis Association (PELTI) OKU, was held at the SMBR Sport Center Tennis Court, Baturaja, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency (OKU), South Sumatra.

Carrying the theme “Reaping Meaning in Togetherness, Reaping Benefits in Skills”, this tournament was officially opened by Regent H. Teddy Meilwansyah, S.STP., M.M., M.Pd together with SMBR President Director Suherman Yahya on Sunday (11/5/2025).

Also present at the opening ceremony were Dandim 0403 OKU Lieutenant Colonel Arh Yusuf Winarno, S.I.P., M.Han, Assistant III to the OKU Regional Secretariat H. Romson Fitri, Baturaja Timur Police Chief AKP Azwan, S.H., M.H., Head of PELTI OKU Kompol Ginting, S.H., Treasurer of Koni OKU Reza Fahlevi, Head of the OKU Youth and Sports Service Ir. Joni Saihu, S.P., M.Si and other invited guests.

The tennis tournament for students held for the first time by SMBR was attended by 67 participants, both singles and doubles categories, from the age group of 10 to 16 years. The participants came from government agencies, educational institutions, and tennis clubs in the OKU Raya area.

“This is the first time Semen Baturaja has held a Tennis Tournament for students, this tournament is not just a competition, but also a means of instilling positive values ​​through sports. Especially encouraging interest in Tennis among students in OKU Raya,” said SMBR President Director Suherman Yahya in his speech.

More than just a sport, this tournament is a form of SMBR’s real contribution in strengthening the development of Human Resources (HR) through student sports achievements. This initiative is in line with the grand vision in President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita, which places the development of superior HR as the main pillar towards the realization of Indonesia Emas 2045.

Suherman also said that this tournament is a form of Semen Baturaja’s commitment to encouraging a healthy lifestyle, building collaborative networks between agencies and fostering a positive competitive spirit. “Sports teach us about discipline, respect, fighting spirit and solidarity, values ​​that are very relevant both in the world of work and everyday life,” said Suherman.

Suherman also appreciated the participation of participants from various sectors in OKU Raya, he hopes that this activity can be carried out routinely every year with a greater number of participants and even with a wider scope. “In the future, we want this activity to be carried out every year and can be increased to a higher level, if currently it is only OKU Raya, in the future maybe at the South Sumatra or South Sumatra level,” he added.

Suherman said, this activity was deliberately held in OKU because PT Semen Baturaja wanted to contribute to the surrounding community considering that almost all Semen Baturaja employees moved to OKU after the Operations were centered in Bumi Sebantu Sekudang.

“We want our presence to be felt by the community, we want to contribute to the surrounding community. This activity can also be a forum for the community, especially children, to show their performance achievements, later there will be the birth of athlete seeds from OKU not only at the Regency level but also at the national and even international levels,” he said.

Suherman said, Semen Baturaja has many sports facilities that can be used to train and produce outstanding athletes. “We have many sports facilities that can be utilized such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and others. Hopefully, these facilities can later produce athletes who excel,” he said.

Chairman of Baporkes SMBR M. Furqon, said that the Semen Baturaja Tennis Championship was held on the initiative of the President Director of SMBR Suherman Yahya.

The President Director, he said, entrusted Baporkes SMBR to hold a tennis tournament. To make the tournament a success, Baporkes collaborated with Pelti. “Hopefully it will be successful. The purpose of this event is to increase the hobby of tennis and to establish friendship,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Regent of OKU H. Teddy Meilwansyah, S.STP., M.M., M.Pd greatly appreciated the initiation of student-level tennis by PT Semen Baturaja, even Teddy welcomed and fully supported the activity. “We are very grateful to PT Semen Baturaja for initiating and promoting Tennis Sports in Baturaja,” said Teddy.

Teddy continued that this activity is the first step for all stakeholders in fostering young athletes to show their talents and abilities in the future so that they can produce high-achieving athletes. “Hopefully in the future it can be held sustainably, not only in OKU but if possible at the regional and even national levels,” he said.

Teddy said, the OKU Regency Government strongly supports this activity, even in the future the OKU Regency Government is ready to collaborate in similar activities for a larger level. “We, as stakeholders, will synergize in everything, not only in Tennis but all other sports. We hope this can be a trigger for other BUMN, BUMD to jointly promote sports in OKU,” he said.

The tournament supported by 22 sponsors was closed with high enthusiasm. In the KU (Age Group) 10 category, the men’s singles title was won by M. Abid Alfatih from SMBR Tennis Club, while the women’s category was won by Allysa Zafira Arsyfatunnisa from Teri Tennis Club. Teri Tennis Club’s dominance was also seen in KU12, with Alkan Zahran Pratama from Keluarga Tennis Club and Naifah Keynes Natadahri from Teri Tennis Club emerging as the men’s and women’s singles champions. For KU14, Ahdan Aganta Nur Sandhika from BK 10 OKU Timur won the men’s singles title, while Vincia Caroline from Teri Tennis Club won the women’s singles title.

In the Age Group 10-13 years old men’s doubles category, the pair Alkan Zahran Pratama and M. Alief Fakhri from Keluarga Tennis Club won first place, while the women’s doubles were won by Kamila Amora Aimi and Naifah Keynes Natadahari from Teri Tennis Club. The 14-16 age group category for men’s doubles was won by Mikael Jhosue Lee Raharja and Ricardo Keane from Teri Tennis Club, while in the women’s doubles, the pair Tachira Radinka Arinie and Qirania Alkarizki from Keluarga Tennis Club won the top position. This tournament is real evidence that the potential of young athletes in OKU Raya continues to grow and is worthy of being developed sustainably. (*)