On the picture Ambassador Yuri O. Thamrin.
Indonesian Contingent Participates in 24th Belgium International Pencak Silat Championship at Schoten, 26-28 April 2019
Statement by Indonesian Embassy in Brussel 2019.
Brussels, 26 April 2019 – The Indonesian contingent of Silat again participated in the Belgium International Pencak Silat Championship in Schoten, Belgium which was held on 26 – 28 April 2019. The Indonesian delegation at the 24th international championship consisted of 32 athletes (23 male athletes 9 female athletes) and 15 officials from the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) and the DKI Jakarta Student Sports Education and Training Center (PPLM).
In this year’s championship, Indonesian Athletes contingent will compete with 124 other international athletes from 11 countries, namely Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and France.
The Indonesian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, Yuri O. Thamrin, was honored to officially open the annual tournament.
In his opening speech, Ambassador Yuri O. Thamrin welcomed the presence of Athletes and Officials in one of the important events in the Pencak Silat championship in Europe. In particular, the Ambassador then expressed his appreciation to thePieters family and the Belgian Harimau (Tiger) Pencak Silat College as the initiator of the championship, and for its contribution in promoting sports from Southeast Asia in Europe since 1982.
Furthermore, Ambassador Yuri stressed, “Pencak Silat is a very solid bridge to strengthen the relationship of friendship and mutual understanding between people in the Southeast Asia Region and Europe. For this reason, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Brussels continues to be committed to supporting and cooperating with various parties in the promotion of Pencak Silat in Europe. “
In the presence of the President of the European Pencak Silat Federation, President of the Asian Pencak Silat Federation and the Mayor of Schoten, contingents and other invited guests, the Ambassador expressed optimism that Pencak Silat could be one of the sports contested in the Olympics. At present Pencak Silat has been supported by 49 countries from a total of 70-75 support needs. Continuation of strong collective efforts from the stakeholders of Pencak Silat is needed, so that aspirations to enter the Olympics can be realized.
The annual international pencak silat championship in Schoten has become a ground training for martial arts athletes from Europe and Asia to enter greater competition. In addition to showing the results of the training so far, Indonesian athletes who come to this competition are also targeted to find out the strengths of other countries’ athletes, so they can prepare for the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines on November 30 – December 11 2019
In the championship in the previous year, the Indonesian Pencak Silat Team won 6 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. In addition, one of the Indonesian Athletes, Sarah Tria Monita, was awarded the best Women’s Pencak Silat Athlete.
For further information:
Ambassade d’Indonesie en Belgique et Luxembourg, S.E. l’Ambassadeur Yuri Octavian THAMRIN:https://www.kemlu.go.id/brussels/en/default.aspx
