Jombang: Youth and Sports Minister (Menpora) Zainudin Amali said the government wants pencak silat to enter the Olympics because this sport was successfully competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Zainudin's desire cannot be separated from the inclusion of pencak silat in Indonesia's cultural heritage by UNESCO.
"And the government's target is that it will be competed in the Olympics. When the Asian Games have (competed) the Olympics is next, let alone the president has ordered to promote Indonesia to host the Olympics," he said in Jombang, East Java on Saturday
"One thing that we are proud of is that UNESCO has recognized pencak silat in Indonesia's cultural heritage. Thank God. Malaysia used to claim that pencak Silat was theirs, we fought for it and we asked for recognition from the United Nations. Last week UNESCO said that pencak silat was an Indonesian cultural heritage," Zainudin said to Antara.
Zainudin hopes that this recognition will make pencak silat develop even better and can be competed at the Olympics. The Party of Functional Groups (Golkar) politician fully supports the martial arts tournament in Indonesia, including by Pagar Nusa, which is one of the oldest martial arts colleges and often contributes to national martial arts athletes.
Zainudin revealed that Indonesia wanted to host the Olympics after successfully holding the Asian Games. He also plans to convey the wishes of the Indonesian government to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in January 2020.
"Later in January I will go to the IOC with the NOC expressing my desire. Of course there are several countries that are our competitors, but with the experience of hosting the Asian Games, hopefully others will provide support to us. Of course we need persuade and lobby various countries in order to be a host," he said.
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