Pencak silat upbeat about SEAG target

Pencak silat upbeat about SEAG target

By Primastuti Handayani

JAKARTA (JP): Pencak silat is known all over the world as
Indonesia's martial art. In international tournaments, Indonesian
athletes have always dominated the event. But for the 20th
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam next month,
Indonesia is tipped to only win eight of 21 golds on offer in the
event.

This figure is only half of Indonesia's victory total in the
1997 SEA Games here, where they won 17 of the 20 golds. The other
three golds went to Vietnam.

Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) chairman Eddy
Nalapraya expressed optimism Indonesian athletes would be able to
reach the target of eight golds.

"We are still optimistic for all the events, but the skills of
the athletes from other Southeast Asian countries are almost
equal to our athletes," he said, as quoted by Republika daily.

SEA Games chef de mission Mochammad Hindarto has expressed his
disappointment with the medal targets of several main sports
organizations target, saying the goals were too low.

"It's quite impossible that our pencak silat athletes can only
win eight gold medals. I'm sure they can win more," he said.

However, IPSI executive director Oyong Kramayudha said
Indonesian athletes were having difficulty with their training.

"Neighboring countries can come to our dormitory in East
Jakarta for their training, but our athletes can only compete
among themselves because we don't have any athletes abroad," he
said.

Vietnamese athletes had a one-month stint in Jakarta and Bali
in May, Singapore sent its athletes to a two-week training
session in West Java, Jakarta and Bali in June while athletes
from Brunei Darussalam also had two weeks of training in East
Java.

Oyong said six countries competing in the SEA Games were
preparing for the event by hiring Indonesian pencak silat
coaches.

"Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and host
Brunei are hiring our coaches. I think they will improve soon,"
he said.

Opinion

But Indonesia's Haris Nugroho has a different opinion.

"By having other countries practicing here, we can see their
real strength. Some of the athletes from these countries are
practicing in different weight categories but we didn't give them
a full fight," he said.

"It's not good if Indonesian athletes are too dominant in
pencak silat. If we have equal rivals, it will give us new
challenges," said Haris, who competes in the 65 to 70 kilograms
division.

Haris said he must be wary of Singaporean Abdul Kadir in this
division.

"I met him during the training here last month and I know that
he wants to avenge his 1997 SEA Games defeat here," said the 1997
SEA Games gold medalist, adding that he was well prepared to
compete in the biennial event.

In the SEA Games from Aug. 7 to Aug. 15, pencak silat will
feature two divisions of fighting and arts. Fighting is divided
into 10 weight categories: A (45-50kgs), B (50-55kgs), C (55-
60kgs), D (60-65kgs), E (65-70kgs), F (70-75kgs), G (75-80kgs), H
(80-85kgs), I (85-90kgs) and J (90-95kgs).

The arts are divided into men's and women's wiragana (single),
men's and women's wirasangga (doubles) and men's and women's
wiraloka (team).

Choreography

In the arts events, athletes are judged on their fighting
choreography using one or two weapons. Athletes are allowed to
choose from a sickle, dagger, bolo knife, sword, toya (a long
stick), trident, whip and lancor (traditional Madurese spear).

"It's not easy to compete in the arts events because we must
totally concentrate on our performance to avoid being hurt by
the weapons," arts specialist Heni Marhendrawati said.

IPSI deputy of athlete development Puji Handoko said he
arranged to have athletes focus on individual training.

"Athletes' training programs were based on each individual's
strengths and weaknesses. The programs also include work on their
mental preparation," he said.

National athletes were involved in domestic training in
Yogyakarta and Bali last month.

"Generally, the results of the training were satisfying but we
are still working on athletes' weaknesses, particularly their
speed," he said.

Team members

Men: Abas Akbar, Abdul Rochim, Agus L, Cecep Aziiz Ramdhani, Eko
Wahyudi, Hans Luther Manam, Haris Nugroho, Hendro Wardoyo, Jeje
Nursabah, Joko Suprihatno, Nur Iskak Al Jufri, Rony Syaifullah,
Samuel Mallo, Sukma Satria, Torikul Anwar

Women: Alfana, Heni Marhendrawati, Hermy Setya Wati, Marniati
Siregar, Ni Made Suparmi, Ni Made Wahyuni, Permata Kemalasari,
Rina Dwi Astuti, Siti Dwi Astuti, Siti Sudiharti, Widya Astuti