Persilat to stage show at 2002 Asiad

JAKARTA (JP): The International Pencak Silat Federation (Persilat) congress resolved on Saturday to stage an exhibition event for the sport at its own expense at the Pusan 2002 Asian Games (Asiad).

"The federation's members have approved the staging of an exhibition event at our own expense. The organizing committee will only provide the venue," Persilat's secretary general, Oyong Karmayudha, told a media briefing after the meeting at the Pencak Silat Center in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta.

"Persilat will contact the Pusan Asian Games Organizing Committee (PAGOC) to discuss the matter. I will go to Pusan (South Korea) soon to check out everything, including accommodation."

Oyong was accompanied by the federation's newly appointed president Eddie Nalapraya, who was elected for his fourth term since Persilat was founded in 1988.

Also attending the conference were Pengiran Jaya Indera Pengiran Muchtar Puteh of the Brunei Darussalam Pencak Silat Federation (Persib), Ibrahim Saad of the Malaysian Pencak Silat Federation (Pesaka), and Aeji Karma of the Singapore Pencak Silat Federation (Persisi).

Pencak silat was acknowledged as an Asian sport at a meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Nov. 12 in Pusan.

Delegates from 19 countries and four observers -- India, Italy, Saudi Arabia and South Korea -- attended the meeting.

The meeting also discussed the preparations to feature pencak silat as a full competition event at the Doha 2006 Asiad.

"We'll send coaches and demonstration teams to several Middle Eastern countries as part of a campaign to popularize the sport more in that region," Oyong said.

"It's also important for Persilat to establish its own fund- raising team to cover promotional budgets. The four founding members are expected to contribute more."

The four founding members are Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Earlier, members of Persilat were worried about the selection of Doha as the Asiad host as the sport is unknown in the Gulf. Reports said that the organizers preferred to stage snooker and squash events instead of pencak silat.

Despite its mounting ambitions, Persilat still needs to improve its performance to ensure the inclusion of the sport in the quadrennial event.

"Persilat has to improve its tournament regulations to avoid misunderstandings by attaching amendments to articles of the 1998 regulations," said Oyong.

"We must also improve the quality of juries and referees by running courses so as to enable them to confidently direct matches."

The meeting also appointed an executive secretary, Haryadi Anwar of Indonesia, assistant secretary general, Megat Zulkarnain of Malaysia, and a treasurer, Rachmat Gobel of Indonesia.

Muchtar Puteh said Persilat would issue international certificates for coaches, judges and referees to ensure their qualifications.

"Persilat will also add some weight classes for both men's and women's divisions to accommodate European fighters who are normally heavier than Asians," he said.

The new classes are men's K (95-100kgs), L (100-105kgs) and M (105-110kgs) and women's G (75-80kgs), H (80-85kgs) and J (85- 90kgs).

The meeting also agreed to a request by European countries' to raise the world championships' participants' age limit from 35 to 40 years old. (nvn)