A killing sport
A killing sport
The Indonesian sports community was shocked last weekend by
the death of a junior featherweight boxer who was brutally
knocked out in a championship match in Jakarta. Akbar Maulana,
23, died in the intensive care unit of the Christian University
hospital on Friday, after undergoing ten hours of surgery to
remove a blood clot from his brain. During the match on Thursday
evening, Akbar fell unconscious after a flurry of blows to the
head from his opponent, the national junior featherweight title
holder Bugiarso.
This country has seen at least four other boxers die during or
after a match in the past seven years. But people here tend to
express sympathy for the ill-fated athletes not only for the
tragic loss of life but because they were so young and
unaccomplished. Most had not achieved anything great in their
sport, and most of them came from poor social and economic
conditions. Akbar died on his way to a featherweight championship
with a purse of only Rp 500,000 (US$247.50).
How can such tragedies be avoided in the future? Some say the
referee should have stopped the match earlier on. Such a request
is not so easy since most boxers will not stop until they grab
the championship belt. Fighters have often railed against
referees for stopping their fights too early, though on many
occasions, the right decision was made at the right time.
Akbar's tragedy also reminded people here of the death of
Bongguk Kendy, a 25-year-old local boxer who died from a similar
knock-out blow. In 1990, Bongguk died after nine months in a coma
due to cerebral contusions.
The plight of these boxers has resulted in a renewed call to
end the sport by those who see it as inhumane and no longer
congruous with modern civilization. This is not an era where
gladiators are engaged to kill each other for entertainment, they
say.
Calls to ban boxing in Indonesia have been heard here for many
years, voiced by, among others, Supreme Court Justice Bismar
Siregar and the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI). Many
religious scholars have also voiced their opposition. But they
have failed to gain enough support to have their appeal
discussed, much less accepted. Boxing organizations, sponsors and
players oppose such an idea. Many promoters and players believe
that boxing is a lucrative business and a good recourse for those
with highly-charged emotions and aggressive mentalities.
Last week the IDI repeated its appeal to ban the sport, upset
with the physical harm inflicted on the boxers, especially to the
brain. It also reminded sports authorities that the medical
association ratified a 1983 international convention by World
Medical Association which calls for the banning of boxing around
the world.
The authorities will not likely heed this call and a similar
one has failed to gain much support in the international arena.
We are therefore of the opinion that much needs to be done here
first to improve the situation facing our young boxers. Those in
charge of organizing the championships must carefully select the
boxers before they enter the training centers. They should also
appoint better qualified referees and rigorously scrutinize the
amateur fighters before upgrading them to the professional ranks.