Pencak silat proposed for Asiad<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia
\nMohammad Hasan has proposed that Indonesian martial arts pencak
\nsilat be included in the 13th Asian Games in 1998 in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
The decision on whether or not the council will accept the
\nproposal will be made at the council's general assembly on Dec.
\n11 in Bangkok, Thailand, Hasan was quoted on Sunday by Kompas.
\nHasan was in Harbin, China attending a meeting of the council's
\nexecutive committee.<\/p>\n
Hasan expressed hope that other Southeast Asian countries
\nwould support the proposal.<\/p>\n
Hasan argued that pencak silat was no different from other
\nAsian martial arts such as karate or judo which have been
\nincluded as medal events in the Games. Therefore, if karate or
\njudo can be competed at the Asiad, why not pencak silat, he
\nreasoned.<\/p>\n
Hasan said the council's executive committee decided on Sunday
\nthat a maximum of 28 sports will be contested at the 1998 Asian
\nGames and that the host reserves the right to determine 20 of
\nthem on the condition that they must be those contested at the
\nOlympic Games. The remaining eight sports will be decided among
\nthe most popular sports in Asia.<\/p>\n
Given this decision, Hasan said he was optimistic that pencak
\nsilat would find its way in the upcoming Asian Games in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
The meeting of the council's executive committee, scheduled to
\nend yesterday, was held in conjunction with the 3rd Asian Winter
\nGames in Harbin, in which 728 athletes from 17 countries are
\ntaking part. Kuwait and Thailand are among the participants even
\nthough snow is not part of their climate. The Games were
\nofficially opened by Chinese president Jiang Zemin on Sunday.
\n(arf)<\/p>",
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