Pencak silat to exhibit in 2002 Asian Games

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After a period of uncertainty, pencak silat, a traditional form of martial arts with roots in Indonesia, has been given permission to compete as an exhibition sport at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

"We had a meeting with an official of BAGOC (Busan Asian Games Organizing Committee) last month, and sealed the issue," Oyong Kramayudha, chairman of the Asia Pacific Pencak Silat Federation, told The Jakarta Post here on Monday.

The "compromise" ended a bout of pessimism, stemming from the indecisiveness on the part of the committee, which seemed to have a different view with the state's national Olympic committee over the proposal.

"We talked with the BAGOC deputy secretary-general, and he said that we could go ahead -- to our relief," Oyong said.

The Busan multi-event sporting spectacle will run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14, while the pencak silat exhibition will take place for two days -- from Oct. 5 to Oct. 6 -- with around 20 countries expected to join.

Sixteen gold medals will be up for grabs. "We are allowed to put on the medal with the Asian Games logo, but it must bear an inscription saying that pencak silat is the nation's cultural sport," Oyong said.

Oyong also announced a plan to hold mass training, followed by a number of foreign participants. The training site will be at the Indonesian pencak silat ground in East Jakarta.

"We are seeking to help the countries which have athletes, but have not established their respective national federations. We invite them to train here together," he said, adding that South Korea, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Oman had confirmed their participation.

With the pencak silat set to feature in Busan, Indonesia is hopeful that the sport, the country's gold mine at the Southeast Asian regional competition, will be officially included in the Asian Games in the following four years.

In the Indonesian contingent, the pencak silat squad members, a number of whom have yet to be announced, will add to the 170- string list, tentatively set by the National Sports Council (KONI) for the Busan trip.