Salwa Nadia Maharani when she will compete in the chess sport at the National Student Sports Week (Pomnas) XIX 2025

ITS Campus, ITS News — The Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) has produced many talented young people in various fields. One of them is Salwa Nadia Maharani, who won five medals in chess at the 2025 National Student Sports Week (Pomnas) XIX, which concluded on Saturday (September 27) at PGRI Semarang University.

At the national-level competition, Salwa won a string of medals in the women’s team and mixed team categories . These achievements included a gold medal in the women’s team standard chess category, a silver medal in the women’s team rapid chess category, a bronze medal in the women’s team blitz chess category, a silver medal in the team rapid chess category, and a bronze medal in the mixed team blitz chess category .

This brilliant achievement is certainly not without reason. Apparently, this student from the ITS Informatics Engineering Department has been interested in pursuing the black and white chess game since she was 5 years old. In fact, Salwa recounted that her first victory in a world chess championship came at age 6. “The first time I won third place in the Junpi-G category at the East Java Provincial Championship (Kejurprov),” she said.

Salwa Nadia Maharani shows the five medals she won at the 19th National Sports Week 2025 at PGRI University Semarang

Armed with consistency and a strong interest, Salwa’s career in chess continued. Another achievement came at the age of 12, when she was entrusted to join the Surabaya representative team in the 2019 East Java Provincial Sports Week (Porprov). “That was my first experience participating in Porprov, and I immediately brought home a gold medal,” she recalled proudly.

At the 19th National Sports Week (Pomnas) in 2025, the Nganjuk native continued to demonstrate her best performance as an accomplished athlete. For a full week, she had to undergo a packed schedule of matches in five different categories, with a total of seven rounds per category. “I could play from morning to night, and even after matches, I had to do my homework,” she said.

Salwa Nadia Maharani with the entire East Java contingent for the chess sport at the 19th National Sports Week 2025

Despite the energy drain, this student from the class of 2024 admits she still manages to balance her time with her academics. For Salwa, time management is key to juggling her career as an athlete and a student. “I usually practice chess for about an hour a day, and I can do that on my phone while waiting for class,” said the bespectacled student.

Salwa’s achievements to date are certainly due to the support of those closest to her. Moving forward, the girl, born on January 10, 2007, hopes to seize more opportunities to participate in chess. “I want to motivate my friends not to be afraid to hone their skills outside of class,” Salwa said.

Salwa’s achievement in the 19th National Student Sports Week (Pomnas) 2025 also reflects ITS’s commitment to realizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 4, namely Quality Education. Her achievements are expected to inspire other students to boldly explore their potential, both in academic and non-academic fields. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Putu Calista Arthanti Dewi
Translator: Devinka Mutianeira