Hanifan Wins 13th Gold for Indonesia in Pencak Silat

Jakarta, MINA – Hanifan Yudani Kusumah contributed the 13th gold medal for Indonesia in the pencak silat competition after defeating Vietnam’s Thai Linh Nguyen 3-2 in the men’s class 55-60kg final, at the Pencak Silat  Hall, in the Indonesian Beasutiful in Miiature  Park (TMII)  here on Wednesday.

At the beginning  both Hanifan and Thai Linh fighted safe, with not many points given by the five judges. Although they attempted to launch attacks against each other, however, not many points were won. Instead, both received a one-point deduction for violating the rules. Likewise in the second and third rounds, violations between the two fighters colored the match.

Hanifan was twice given a violation warning, causing a three-point deduction. In the third round, Hanifan almost lost to the Vietnamese silat exponent, asiangames2018.id reported

However, his enthusiasm flared up by the yels of Indonesian supporters, with President Joko Widodo, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, chef de mission of the Indonesian contingent to the 2018 Asian Games Syafruddin and Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani in attendance.

At the end of the match, Hanifan was declared the winner by a thin score of 3-2. Hanifan celebrated by praying and was greeted by the VIP guests. President Jokowi and Prabowo Subianto simultaneously embraced Hanifan, who won the 13th gold for Indonesia in pencak silat.

Pencak silat, Indonesia`s traditional martial arts, is making its debut in the 18th Asian Games, being co-hosted by Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, from August 18 to September 2, 2018.  (L/R04/RS5)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)