The State University of Surabaya (Unesa) has officially hosted the International Invitational Petanque Tournament ‘Bola Baja Cup’ 2026. The championship, which takes place at the Cak Hasan Petanque Court, Faculty of Sports Science and Health (FIKK) Unesa, was officially opened by the Chairman of the Central KONI, Retired Lieutenant General Marciano Norman, on Tuesday (7/7/2026).
The event, scheduled to run until July 9, is held to commemorate Unesa's 62nd anniversary as well as Bastille Day celebrations. The competition attracted 420 athletes from 10 provinces in Indonesia, covering various categories ranging from elementary school students to general and executive categories.
Chairman of the Central KONI, Marciano Norman, expressed his appreciation for the initiative of FOPI East Java (Jatim), which is considered successful in strengthening the ecosystem of the petanque sport. According to him, organizing this tournament is a crucial step in athlete development as well as a concrete effort to improve the standards of petanque competition in the country.
Director of IFI Surabaya, Vincent Parade, who also attended the opening, expressed his admiration for the Indonesian public's enthusiasm for petanque. He assessed that the quality of the development system and the technical capabilities of Indonesian athletes have shown highly positive and proud progress.
Echoing this sentiment, the Chairman of the East Java FOPI Provincial Association, Dwi Cahyo Kartiko, emphasized that athletic achievement must be systematically designed through a sustainable ecosystem. He hopes this event can serve as a laboratory for athletes to hone their skills to achieve their performance targets at the 2027 SEA Games.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of East Java KONI, Muhammad Nabil, stressed the importance of competition frequency for athletes. He targets that similar tournaments be held at least four times a year to sharpen competitive instincts, which will later serve as a database in the athlete selection process for PON 2028 and the upcoming 2027 SEA Games international event.
