Olympic Council of Asia Sets New Requirements for Pencak Silat

Pencak Silat for the first time will be competed in the Asian Games 2018 in August.

JAKARTA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) — The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has obliged all countries and regions participating in Indonesian traditional martial art of Pencak Silat to take part in all numbers in the sport, Xinhua reported, quoting the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI).

General Secretary of the association Erizal Chaniago said on Wednesday that the council has made the decision that the participating nations in Pencak Silat must participate in all the 16 numbers in the traditional martial art.

This is in contrast to previous decisions which only allowed each nation to take part in 13 of the 16 sport numbers, said Chaniago.

These decisions have challenged the Indonesian Pencak Silat association, as many athletes from the nations (or regions) are still not familiar with artistic numbers and or team numbers, the General Secretary said.

“Therefore we are preparing technical support, including coaches and facilities for practice in Indonesia for those from other natoins who wish to practice the art and team numbers,” he said.

The IPSI has attempted to promote the sport overseas and expects it to be part of exibition in the 2020 Olympics.

Currently, Pencak Silat is played by 45 nation. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)