Indonesia’s pencak silat traditional martial arts team collected 12 gold medals, four silvers and four bronzes, securing pole position at the 17th Pencak Silat World Tournament held at the Lila Bhuana Sports Center in Denpasar, Bali from Dec.2 to 8.

Second place was secured by Vietnam with five gold medals, seven silvers and six bronzes, followed by Malaysia with three golds, three silvers and three bronzes.

Neighboring Singapore took home two gold medals, while Thailand and Belgium won one gold medal each.

Indonesian athletes were victorious in two categories: art and sparring. Commenting on the tournament, team coach Rony Saefullah said despite the achievements, the athletes had not undergone proper training, as they also had to focus on preparing for the 19th edition of National Games in West Java in September.

“Therefore we must continue to work hard and train more in the future,” he said.

Besides, he added, all athletes must improve their technical skills.

“Learning new techniques is a must,” he said.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who attended the tournament’s closing ceremony with Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika, Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, said pencak silat would be included in the 2018 Asian Games.

“Tokyo Olympics in 2020 will see a pencak silat exhibition and it will be included in the 2024 Olympics,” he said as quoted by Antara news agency on Thursday.

He also said pencak silat athletes must learn the moral virtues of the sport. The President added that pencak silat could also be utilized as a means of communication between nations.

“It’s about time pencak silat speak louder on the world stage,” he said.

Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) chief Prabowo Subianto expressed his appreciation for the athletes and contingents from 40 countries that participated in the tournament.

Prabowo also asked tournament attendees to pray for the victims of the recent earthquake in Pidie Jaya regency, Aceh. The government has joined forces with relevant stakeholders to search for victims and to provide aid. The 6.5 magnitude earthquake has claimed more than 100 lives.

“We, the big pencak silat family, offer our condolences to the victims. Our hearts and prayers go out to them,” he said.

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