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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.