Story of UM Surabaya Graduate Fatkur Roji, UM Surabaya Rock Climbing Athlete Who Has Won 87 Gold

One of the University of Muhammadiyah Surabaya (UM Surabaya) students Fatchur Roji, who is known as a rock climbing athlete with a myriad of achievements, finally finished his studies and carried out his Bachelor's graduation at the At Tauhid Tower Building on Saturday (3/6/23). The 26-year-old graduate who is the pride of East Java has won 87 gold medals since 2007 when he was in elementary school.

The man who is usually called Roji is a student who received an athlete scholarship at UM Surabaya and took the Management study program. Roji told the editor of UM Surabaya that he had taken up rock climbing since he was 11 years old when he was in elementary school.

“When I was little, I had no dream of becoming an athlete. I just like rock climbing and love heights. It turns out that it has a big influence on my life now,” explained Roji.

Roji's prowess in sports has skyrocketed since entering junior high school (SMP) when he was actively practicing at the rock climbing field of the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI). According to him, that year, online transportation did not yet exist, so he had to switch from one bus to another to get to the training ground.

Six years after leaving school, Roji shifted from one bus to another to get to the practice site. For six years he has been engaged in the heat of Surabaya and the stuffy air inside the public transportation.

"I am from 8 siblings, my parents are self-employed, to get everything I want, I can't get it easily, so I have to work hard. At that time, I chose public transportation because the price was relatively cheap and school children could afford it,” he added.

Increasingly Skyrocketing National and International Achievements

Roji's achievements skyrocketed on the national stage when he took part in the 2015 East Java Porprov V in Banyuwangi. He won 1st place in men's individual boulder, 1st place in men's team boulder, 1st place in men's team lead, 2nd place in men's individual lead, 2nd place in men's individual world speed record, 2nd place in men's individual classic speed and 3rd place in men's team classic speed.

He also won 1st place in the men's general lead at the Eiger Independence Sport Climbing Competition Bandung. 1st place in the men's team lead, 3rd place in the men's team boulder.

In 2016 he also won 1st place in the men's general boulder at the Balikpapan open bouldering championship. 2nd place in the men's general lead at the Wanala Climbing Competition. 1st place in men's general boulder in the Mayor's Cup of Surabaya.

1st place in men's general boulder at the Singapore active boulder event. 1st place in the men's team lead, 2nd place in the men's team boulder, 2nd place in the men's individual lead at the PON XIX 18 West Java.

In 2017 at the XVI Yogyakarta Rock Climbing National Championship he won 3rd place in the men's individual boulder, 2nd place in the men's team boulder and 2nd place in the men's team boulder.

In 2018 he again won 2nd place in the men's general lead at the Tursina National Wall Climbing Competition Malang. 1st place in the men's individual general boulder at the Jakarta Mega Open Climbing Competition. 1st place in men's general boulder at the YPHB Open Sport Climbing Competition Bandung. In the same year, Roji also won 1st place in the men's individual general boulder Surabaya Mayor Cup. 1st place in the men's individual general boulder in the Zainal Tayeb Bali event. 1st place in men's individual classic speed at the Eiger Independence Sport Climbing Competition Bandung. While in the Solo Rock Climbing National Championship he won 1st place in the men's team lead, 1st place in the men's team boulder, 1st place in the men's combine and 2nd place in the men's world record relay.

In 2019 he made it into the semifinals of the top 8 of the men's world speed record at the IFSC Climbing World Cup Chongqing China. He also managed to become the 2nd overall champion in the men's individual at Rock Domain Thailand. While in the Prapon XX Zone 2 East Java event in Surabaya in 2019 he won 1st place in the men's individual lead, 1st place in the men's team boulder and 2nd place in the men's combine. In the Bogor Asian Championship event, he won 1st place in the men's speed world record relay.

In 2021, at the Sport Climbing mini competition in Bali, he won 2nd place in the men's individual boulder and 1st place in the men's combine. At the XX Papua National Sports Week, he won 1st place in the men's lead group, 1st place in the men's boulder group, 1st place in the men's combine and 2nd place in the men's world record speed relay.

At the prestigious Asian University Games Thailand 2022, Roji won 1st place in the men's individual boulder, 1st place in the men's world record speed relay and 3rd place in the men's individual lead. Still in 2022 at the Indonesia Jakarta rock climbing circuit championship he won 2nd place in the men's individual world speed record.

Meanwhile, in the eiger independence sport climbing competition in August 2022, Roji managed to win 1st place in the men's individual classic speed. Roji also won the Surabaya Mayor Cup and won 1st place in the men's individual lead.

At the end of December 2022, at the XVIII National Championship for Rock Climbing Kepulauan Bangka Belitung Roji won 2nd place in the men's world record speed relay and 2nd place in the men's team boulder.

Help Improve the Family Economy

As the youngest of 8 children, he is happy not to depend financially on his family and siblings. Even from the sweat of the championship he won he managed to help and support the family economy.

His parents are self-employed workers, although both of them have jobs. Roji has been accustomed to living independently since childhood, so he is determined not to burden his parents' finances.

"Through this rock climbing I get a lot of benefits. Not only money, through rock climbing I can also get easy access to educational scholarships," he said.

Grateful that there is a university that fully supports the education of athletes. Not only me, at UM Surabaya I met various athletes who received full scholarships.

Roji admits that he is grateful that the path he has chosen has had a big impact on himself and the people around him.

“In my opinion, this is one of the results of 6 years of hard work moving from one bus to another. Now it's delicious," said Roji, laughing.