TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pencak Silat traditional martial art fighters from 42 countries attended the opening of the 17th Pencak Silat World Championship on Saturday (Dec. 3).

The event was officially opened by the general chairman of the Association of Pencak Silat Indonesia (IPSI), Prabowo Subianto, who is also the chairman of the World Federation of Pencak Silat.

In his opening speech, he said, "This championship is expected to help deepen the relations between countries."

"Pencak Silat as a sport and part of the indigenous culture of Indonesia that has increasingly been accepted by the world community as reflected by the increasing number of participants in the event," organizing committee chairman Edhy Prabowo noted.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Imam Nahrawi and Bali deputy governor, I Ketut Sudikerta.

Edhy disclosed that a total of 533 athletes and officials attended the event. The championship will feature 24 categories, divided into 18 matches and six art events, including singles, doubles and group.

Participants have come from South Africa, Algeria, the US, Australian Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Estonia, the Philippines, India, Britain, Japan, Iran, Germany, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Egypt, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, France, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor Leste, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

"We will also organize a Pencak Silat Festival showcasing a parade of self-defense arts. The festival is the first event being held by the Association of Pencak Silat Indonesia (IPSI)," Edhy revealed.

The committee also plans to hold the 13th national congress which will be attended by all central and provincial boards of the IPSI. Its main agenda will be to elect a new IPSI general chairman for 2016-2020.

IPSI Secretary General Erizal Chainago informed that the festival would be held at the second floor of the Lila Bhuana sports hall while the championship would be held on the first floor.

The festival will feature traditional music from Bali, West Java, East Java and West Sumatra.

ANTARA