Covid-19 Brought an Asia Junior Champion Closer to His Family for Eid Mubarak
Ever since he was 11 years old, he has been living away from his parents. For children at his age, they usually live at home with their parents. Every day they get to meet the parents and are greeted with outpouring affections. Unlike other kids, Alwi Farhan who is now 15 years old, lives hundreds of kilometers apart from his father and mother, Muhammad Anis and Intan Utari.
"Since I was 11 years old or in 2016, I have been living in Jakarta because I joined Exist Club," said Alwi who’s originally from Solo, a city located 500 kilometers away from Jakarta.
Initially, he admitted having been sad and feeling homesick almost every day. However, training and competitions made the sadness and homesickness disappear. Instead, Alwi got motivated to bring pride for both of his parents.
With a routine consist of training schedules, achievement after achievement began to take place. In 2019, he won Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix, Manado National Circuit, Jakarta Premier National Circuit, Daihatsu Astec Regional Junior Yogyakarta and Daihatsu Astec Regional Junior Medan.
The biggest highlight so far, though, is when Alwi also rose to the podium in Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships 2019 that was held at GOR Sudirman Surabaya. Alwi won boy’s singles title over Chinese Taipei’s Ma Cheng-Yi with a score of 21-19, 21-16. As a form of excitement over the victory, he stood up and raised his hands high. Alwi did not think he could become a champion because he was not the top seed. “I'm very proud to be able to win this final match. I never imagined I could be an Asian continental champion,” he said.
For Alwi, his parents are very important. He always speaks with them before and after every match, including after winning Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships 2019.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, Alwi hasn’t been able to train as usual. However, the pandemic has allowed him to spend the holy month of Ramadan with his parents. Usually, he went through Ramadan away from home and only come home near Eid Mubarak holiday. Alwi admitted that he can fast for a longer period of time when he’s back in his hometown.
"It’s a long time off (of Badminton) and therefore I can stay in Solo (his hometown) longer,” said Alwi. The religious atmosphere in his hometown feels strong. It’s been a blessing in disguise that despite not able to train as usual, Alwi can go through Ramadan month doing fasting and iftar with his family. This year, Eid Mubarak holiday surely feels special because he’ll be able to celebrate it with his loved ones.
Image Source: X
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