Video Report: World Pencak Silat Championship biggest – ever, say officials

PHUKET: At the the opening ceremony on Saturday, officials marked the 16th World Pencak Silat Championship 2015 as the largest such event for the Indonesian martial art.

“Under the campaign ‘Uniting Silat, Uniting the People’, we hope to raise the world’s awareness of this sport. We hope that all pencak silat member countries will be united and grow strong,” said Panu Uthairat, president of Thailand’s Pencak Silat Association.

The event will feature more than 450 fighters from 38 countries, as they compete for 24 medals.

Entrants will compete in two categories: match and artistic. The match category has 11 weight classes for men and seven weight classes for women. There are three categories for artistic competitions: solo, double and team.

“Sport is a human activity that creates a perfection between the body and soul, as well as a strong, healthy bond between all people,” said Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, who chaired the opening.

“We all have to understand that it is not just about winning and losing, it’s about the spirit of sport. I would like to see all competitors in this tournament display genuine sportsmanship.”

For a schedule of the matches click here.

— Monchaya Suebpong