The 10th Regional Student Sports Week (Popda) at the Riau Islands Province level officially concluded with a closing ceremony at GOR Badang Perkasa, Karimun Regency, on Wednesday (8/7) night. The closing ceremony was marked by the men's volleyball final match between Batam City and Lingga Regency, where Batam emerged victorious with a score of 3-1.
Deputy Governor of the Riau Islands, Nyanyang Haris Pratamura, expressed deep appreciation to the Karimun Regency Government for successfully carrying out its responsibility as host. He emphasized that the entire series of events, from the opening to the closing ceremony, ran orderly and smoothly without significant obstacles.
The final results of this student sports event made history with Tanjungpinang City emerging as the overall champion after securing 31 gold medals. Batam City followed in second place with 23 gold medals, followed by Bintan Regency with 14 golds, Lingga Regency with 8 golds, Karimun Regency with 7 golds, Natuna Regency with 6 golds, while Anambas Islands Regency has not yet managed to bring home any gold medals.
Nyanyang added that the main essence of holding Popda X is to scout potential young athletic talents from all corners of Kepri. The high-performing athletes selected will later be prepared through intensive training to compete and bring honor to the region on the national stage.
Responding to the implementation of the event, Karimun Regent Iskandarsyah acknowledged evaluations regarding the organization that will serve as notes for the local government moving forward. Nevertheless, he expressed gratitude that this event served as a unifying platform and promoted regional potential for participants attending from various regencies and cities across Kepri.
