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.