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Pencak silat wary of repeat of SEA Games judging bias

Moch. N. Kurniawan The Jakarta/Jakarta

Controversial judging from the 22nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam remains a sore point for national pencak silat athletes.

Although the country is the leader in the region, with Vietnam close on its heels, the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) has not set any target for medals in next month's event, fearing a repeat of the judging bias.

"The National Sports Council (KONI) requires every athlete to win medals. We cannot alter that request, but we do have the chance to triumph in overall medal standings," Yohansah Lubis, the SEA Games pencak silat assistant manager, said earlier this week.

In the 1999 SEA Games, Indonesia grabbed five golds from pencak silat to finish second behind Vietnam with seven golds.

In the 2001 Games, Indonesia reversed the standings with nine golds, followed by Vietnam with six.

Two years later, the event in Vietnam was marred by controversy, with the Indonesian team accusing judges of bias toward the hosts, especially in the artistic section.

The team planned to boycott the finals but was eventually persuaded to compete. Four golds put them behind Vietnam's 11 top-place finishes.

Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore won two golds respectively, while Brunei took one gold.

Despite the controversy, many of the sport's observers acknowledge the rapid improvement in technique of Vietnam's athletes.

But Yohansah said the 2003 experience taught the team to set moderate targets, as results were based on the vagaries of judging.

"This sports contest is based on judging, so although we have prepared our athletes physically and technically, nontechnical factors will play a role in the competition," he said.

IPSI selected 13 men and eight women to compete in the Games.

The 21 athletes will participate in 17 divisions, with 13 combat sections and the remainder artistic sections.

The athletes have taken part in simulation matches in Makassar and Bali to monitor their progress. No overseas tryouts were conducted because most of the region's top exponents are from this country, although athletes from Singapore and Thailand held tryouts here.

National athletes are scheduled to hold a duel meet with athletes from Bogor regency and mayoralty on Saturday and Sunday.