Indonesian national team player Eizar Tanjung balances school, Ramadan fasting, football in Australia

Eizar.jpg

Sydney FC and Indonesian national team player Eizar Tanjung. Credit: SBS Indonesian

A young Muslim footballer Eizar Tanjung shared his inspiring journey as he navigates the challenges of training and academics during Ramadan.


Waking up at the crack of dawn, Eizar Jacob Tanjung recounted how his day begins at 4:30 a.m. and he eats sahur (pre-dawn meal) before heading to training.

Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan adds complexity to his routine. Eizar shared the challenges he faces from not being able to eat or drink throughout the day, especially during training sessions.

The Sydney FC and Indonesian national team player explained how the first week of Ramadan was particularly challenging for him, and how he overcame this obstacle.

Interestingly, he said that fasting has even improved his performance on the field, as he has grown closer to God during the holy month.

Eizar during a training session with the Indonesian national team.jfif
Eizar Tanjung during a training session with the Indonesian national team. Credit: Supplied/Nando Tanjung
I felt like this month I've been playing better, honestly, because I've got God with me.
Eizar Tanjung, Footballer

How does Eizar manage to keep himself motivated to train and study, while navigating the unique experiences of being a Muslim athlete in Australia?

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So first of all, I'd wake up at, like, 4:30, 4:30 in the morning, get ready, eat,

uh, especially in th-this month of Ramadan, eat, and then I'd leave for

training at 5:30, start at 6:00, finish training at s- uh, finish training at

9:00, and then I'd go to school, straight to school. What's it called? Uh, I go

straight to school,

finish school at, like, 2:00, and then I would go over to the park to do my own

training, do the-- go to the gym, do my own, like, personal, like, personal

training extras. And after that, I would just finish off all my homework, all my

classwork that I haven't, that I've missed, and go-- and sleep and repeat.

That's pretty much my day-to-day

-life. -Itu tadi Eizar

Jacob Tanjung, pendengar. Pemain gelandang bertahan Timnas Indonesia U-17 yang tahun

lalu juga ikut bermain di Piala Dunia U-17 di Qatar. Kepada SBS

Indonesian, ia menceritakan bagaimana kesibukannya sehari-hari antara sekolah

dan berlatih sepak bola, terlebih di bulan puasa Ramadan ini. Anak kelas 12 yang

juga bermain untuk Sydney FC U-20 ini, pendengar, menyempatkan waktunya datang ke

studio SBS di saat ia juga sedang berpuasa. Untuk berbincang dengan SBS

Indonesian, berbagi cerita tentang bagaimana ia memaknai Ramadan dengan

kesibukannya tahun ini. Berikut ini selengkapnya.

Ooh, hang out with friends usually happens on a, on, on the weekends, so maybe on a

Sunday or a Saturday, uh, 'cause I usually have my weekend games with my club,

Sydney FC, on Friday and Saturday nights, so usually a Sunday would be the time to

hang out with friends or spend time with family.

And we really appreciate you coming here to the studio, and this is during Ramadan.

Pendengar, ini, uh, Awer puasa juga. Um, nggak ada cheat, nggak ada, nggak ada

minum? Ha-have you-

-[laughs] -Nggak ada minum. Nggak ada makan, nggak

-ada minum. [laughs] -[laughs]

Can you tell our listeners, um,

is that even, like, difficult for you as an athlete?

Honestly, it's a really, really hard setback, like, not being able to eat, not

being able to drink, staying dehydrated. But during this month of Ramadan, it's

about getting, getting closer to God, um, being more disciplined with yourself,

quitting bad habits. So

I felt like in the past few years, like, playing during Ramadan, I felt like this

month I've been playing better, honestly, because I've got God with me. And, but,

like, especially in Australia, because maybe in Indonesia, if you're fasting

while you're playing, like, it's not that difficult because in Australia there's not

really many Muslims, I mean. But there's no, there's no problem with that, but

there's not many Muslims, so maybe there would be, like, two or three other people

-in my team- -Mm

... that would be fasting as well, so. But with me training in the mornings for

Sydney FC, 'cause bef- we tr- I train before school, so I'd be, I would have a

full stomach ready for training. But when it comes to the afternoon, I'm, I'm dying,

-honestly. [laughs] -But, like, full stomach for e-early

morning training, is it a good thing as well or not really?

Oh, I can't, I can't eat too much, 'cause then I'd get, I'll, I'll vomit or

something. But yeah, usually I'll just get a, get all my electrolytes in, get all my

carbs in, protein, and I'll be set for the day.

So you cannot have, like, a more or extra-

-No -... food in the morning either?

I can't have a, I can't really have a feast. I've gotta have, like, a, a meal

ready for training, but it's gonna have to last me the whole day. But it is what it

-is. I just push through. -Okay. T-tell me then. I mean, uh, for

Ramadan, during Ramadan especially. So you get that in the morning-

-Mm -... and then you still go to school.

-Yes. -Uh, catch up, as you mentioned, uh-

-Yeah -... your, uh, your pelajaran-

-[laughs] -... with your school studying and

-everything, right? -Yeah.

-And it takes energy as well, right? -Yeah.

-Ngantuk di tengah-tengah hari? -Ooh, so after school, I'd usually have a

one-hour nap or like a nap, a little power nap.

But not at, at school. Not at school. [laughs]

No, no, no. No, no, no. Not at, not at school.

-No, no, no, no. -Disclaimer. Not at school. Not at school.

I'd have a nap after school at home, and then I'd usually do my extras, do some

homework that I need to finish off, stuff like that, to get me-- so then I'm still

-got that energy behind me. -Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then, um, buka puasa

first or do the afternoon exercise first, if you do have afternoon-

Depends. If it's, like, an assignment, like an important assignment or a test

coming up, I'll, I'll do the school first. But if not, if I'm free, then I'll

usually just go, go to the park or go to the gym and train. But managing, like, the

balance between football and school as of now, as of lately, has been pretty tough,

especially with me going overseas to Indo. Like, I would miss a lot of school

time. But

I've been doing well, honestly. I've been doing pretty well, like, catching up,

like, keeping in touch with my teachers, and yeah, I'm just enjoying it at the

-moment. -Is it, is there any leniency for you? Oh,

this guy so busy with, uh, the national team and everything. Will they, like, you

-know, cut you some slack? -Yes, of course. I mean, I go to Endeavour

Sports High School, so they're s- they're actually a Sydney FC school, so I've

actually got some coaches there

that work at the school. So I tr- I us- I usually train at school and then train at

my club. But

yeah, all the teachers are supportive. They've seen my journey. They've seen what

I've achieved. And yeah, they're honestly willing, willing to help out in any, any

-shape possible. -Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Being a Muslim, an

athlete, a Muslim athlete, uh, your age, um, in Sydney, um, have to navigate a lot

of, you know, uh, stuffs, uh, being a 17 years old, I, I might say.

Mm.

-Um, how is that? -Uh, honestly, for the first few-- f-first

week will be tough. Like, first week of Ramadan is always tough every year, every

single year. ButOr like, I just push through it. Me and a few other, few other,

the other boys in my team, we just push through. And then we, we just get used to

it, you know? Like, we enjoy our football, enjoy ... I enjoy football and training

and my schoolwork, like, more during Ramadan 'cause I know,

'cause I feel close to God, I feel close to Allah in the holy month of Ramadan. And

yeah, that's, I just push through honestly. Like, I don't really ... Like, I

-just keep, keep going. -Would you have time to do your prayers?

-In between the naps maybe? [laughs] -[laughs] Maybe in between the naps, yeah.

Yeah, I would be able to pray, uh, after school. Mainly after school, like, I would

have time to go and do what I need to do, like pray and stuff. But usually during

-the day, no, I wouldn't be able to, no. -Mm.

-'Cause of school and stuff. Yeah. -Mm-hmm. So do you have any plan for Eid

al-Fitr

-family-wise? -Yeah.

-On New Year? -Every year, every year we get together,

uh, at my dad's, my dad's parents' house, uh-

-In? -In Sydney.

-Mm. -In Sydney. Uh, we get together, we get the

whole family, everyone we know. Get a lot of food. P- Uh, everyone's, everyone's

there. It's a good time. It's a good place. And yeah, that's just the thing we

do every year, like, with Eid al-Fitr. Uh, we just get together-

-Mm-hmm -... and spend a good time.

And it'll be very different this year because then on April-

-Oh, yes -... you will be-

Yes. I don't know if it's gonna be clashing.

-Mm. -I actually don't know the dates to be

exact, but hopefully it's not clashing and hopefully I can be there with all the

-family. -Yep. Yeah, no, of course.

-Yeah. -And, um, who's the biggest sup- supporter

-of you, Azad? Could be family or friends. -Biggest supporter of me? Ooh, that's a,

-that's a tough question. I, I think- -Just because your dad is here in this

-room- -Yeah

... doesn't mean that you have to mention his name. [laughs]

[laughs] No. I would say it's my, the three other people I'm sharing the house

with. So my sister, my mum, and my dad.

Like, uh, what's it called? They're, they're there f- They're ... I see them

every day. They're there for me every day, and they just provide for me, they help

me out with like, like, if I've got a problem, they've, they've, they're always

there for me. And yeah, it's, it's good. So I would say them three. Yeah. My

-sister- -Oh

-... my mum, and my dad. Yeah. -In that, in that order?

Oh, no, not in that order. Uh, I have no order. No, no order. No order. Mum, Dad,

-sister. No order. -[laughs]

-No order. -They're on the same level.

Yeah, same level, same level, same level. [laughs]

END OF TRANSCRIPT

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