A two-day table tennis tournament in Perth brought together the Indonesian diaspora from all walks of life, from former athletes to diplomats, in the spirit of independence celebrations.
On Saturday and Sunday, 1 and 2 August 2026, the Indonesian community in Perth held a table tennis tournament at Hot Shot Table Tennis Centre in Embleton, Western Australia. The tournament, organised by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Perth, was part of celebrations marking the 81st anniversary of Indonesian independence.
Irwan Budiarto, a professional table tennis coach who helped organise the event, said sporting activities to mark 17 August had been a long-standing tradition in Perth, dating back an estimated 15 to 20 years. But the tradition was interrupted during the pandemic and only resumed in the past two years.
The tournament featured four categories: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles, and was open to all age groups.
Players competed seriously, but the main spirit of the tournament was togetherness, Budiarto said, adding that moments like these were quite rare because Indonesian table tennis players in Perth were scattered across the city and seldom gathered.
For Budiarto, who has represented Australia in national and international competitions, table tennis is not a new sport in the tradition of independence celebrations. When he was still at school in Indonesia, Budiarto said, he always took part in table tennis competitions during independence celebrations. He said table tennis was one of the sports contested in almost every region of Indonesia during 17 August festivities.
One of the tournament's participants, Antonius Prawira Yudianto, Consul for Information and Socio-Cultural Affairs at the Indonesian Consulate General in Perth, also competed in the men's singles category. Yudianto said he played without any ambition to win and simply enjoyed the camaraderie.
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