Prabowo Pushes Pencak Silat to be Official Sport in Egypt
- Dok. JKTC
Jakarta, VIVA – President Prabowo Subianto has expressed the hope that Egypt will designate the Indonesian traditional martial art Pencak silat as an official sport.
"In the field of cultural cooperation, we want to advance Pencak silat," the head of state said at a press conference after a meeting with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in Cairo on Wednesday (Des 18).
He added he had received a report saying 4 thousand Egyptian youths are pursuing Pencak silat.
The martial art was one of the topics discussed by the two leaders at the meeting, in addition to economy, defense, religious moderation, and support for Palestine's independence.
Presiden RI Prabowo Subianto memberikan pidato di depan ratusan mahasiswa Al-Azhar asal Indonesia di Gedung Al-Azhar Conference Center, Universitas Al-Azhar, Kairo, Mesir, Rabu, 18 Desember 2024.
- ANTARA/Mentari Dwi Gayati
Pencak silat, one of the oldest martial arts in Indonesia, has been contested at the Asian level, namely at the 2018 Asian Games, which Indonesia hosted.
In Jakarta, 166 athletes from 16 countries such as Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam competed in the 2018 Asian Games' Pencak silat events.
In the Pencak silat events, Indonesia collected the most medals, namely 14 golds and one bronze.
Meanwhile, Pencak silat is not yet contested in the Olympics.
However, during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, President Prabowo, who is also serving as president of the International Pencak Silat Federation (Persilat), introduced the martial art to international sports communities at an exhibition in Paris on July 27.
He also directly conveyed his wish for Pencak silat to be included as an Olympic sport to the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, in Paris.
Currently, 1,100 participants from 55 countries are competing in the World Pencak Silat Championship in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.
