Persilat to stage show at 2002 Asiad
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)