Vietnam poses a new threat in pencak silat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Vietnam has emerged as a threat to neighboring
\ncountries at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games including the
\nevent's powerhouses Indonesia and Thailand specially in
\nIndonesia's traditional martial art pencak silat.<\/p>\n
Claiming seven of the 21 golds at stake in the 1999 SEA Games
\nin Brunei Darussalam -- higher than Indonesia's achievement of
\nonly five golds -- Vietnam proved that hard work helped the
\ncountry to become a strong contender specially in the women's
\nside.<\/p>\n
At the just-concluded Pencak Silat World Championships at the
\nPencak Silat Center in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta,
\nVietnam showed its great skills by grabbing a total of five
\ngolds, six silvers and two bronzes. Four golds, a silver and a
\nbronze of the medals were claimed by the country's women's
\nfighters.<\/p>\n
"One of Vietnam's keys to success is the strong disciplines of
\nthe athletes during training. They always follow the coach's
\ninstructions, unlike Indonesian athletes who sometimes go against
\nour orders," Vietnam's coach Zulman of Indonesia said.<\/p>\n
"The Vietnamese never complain if we slap them for their
\nmistakes, while most of our fighters can't take any strong
\ndisciplinary action or warnings."<\/p>\n
Zulman gave credit to the Vietnamese eagerness to train and
\ntheir speed of learning.<\/p>\n
"Vietnam also has a unique recruitment system. Juniors first
\nare focused on the martial arts events to develop their power."<\/p>\n
"Then, they will be transferred to fighting events when they
\nare older and have more power."<\/p>\n
Indonesia's head coach Suhartono, who just ended his five-year
\ncoaching contract in Vietnam, confirmed that currently Vietnam
\nhas the best women fighters.<\/p>\n
"Vietnam has shown improvement especially in the women's
\ndivision. On the contrary, Indonesia has been neglecting the
\nyoungsters as we have always relied on old hands in previous SEA
\nGames."<\/p>\n
"We must be very careful with Vietnam because they have the
\nbest women fighters now."<\/p>\n
Indonesia's women's coach Dahliana said Vietnam gave high
\npriority to the sport.<\/p>\n
"Pencak silat is a priority sport in Vietnam. It has a
\ncentralized and long-term training center just like our badminton
\ntraining center."<\/p>\n
Similar warnings were also expressed by coaches from other
\ncountries such as Japan and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
"Vietnam definitely dominates the women's division now thanks
\nto their high spirit," said Japan's coach Susilo of Indonesia,
\nwho brought the sport to both Vietnam and Japan.<\/p>\n
"But Indonesia must also be aware of women fighters from
\nThailand and the Philippines who are currently regenerating their
\nplayers. They can pose some threat in the future."<\/p>\n
Malaysian head coach Bahrain Ibrahim said Vietnam would still
\ndominate the women's fighting events at next year's Games.<\/p>\n
"We have to admit that Vietnam's women's fighters are still
\ntoo strong for us as they trained very hard," he said. "But it
\ndoesn't mean that we'll just sit down and do nothing. I expect to
\nget two or three gold medals in the women's events," he added.
\n(nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vietnam-poses-a-new-threat-in-pencak-silat-1447893297",
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