Pencak Silat is successful at the 2025 Asian Youth Games, proof that Indonesia’s sports diplomacy is bearing sweet fruit

Viralterkini.id, Jakarta – Pencak silat has once again made history on the Asian sports stage. For the first time, pencak silat was officially competed as a medal sport at the 2025 Bahrain Asian Youth Games (AYG).

This success is an important milestone for the International Pencak Silat Federation (PERSILAT) which has succeeded in fighting for additional competition numbers in AYG.

The journey towards this achievement was not easy, it required intensive diplomacy and support from various parties, especially the Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC Indonesia), until finally the host Bahrain agreed to make pencak silat an official branch from previously only having exhibition status.

“This is the fruit of a long period of hard work and diplomacy. From the start, PERSILAT together with NOC Indonesia convinced the AYG committee and the host that pencak silat deserved to be part of the Asian youth sporting event. Now, pencak silat is no longer an exhibition, but an official sport that competes for medals,” said Benny Sumarsono, former Daily Chair of PERSILAT.

The implementation of pencak silat at the 2025 Bahrain Asian Youth Games was considered successful. A total of 14 countries participate in this event, and the distribution of medals shows even distribution of achievements and healthy competition on the mat.

Apart from the Indonesian Team who won gold and silver medals, martial artists from Uzbekistan also managed to bring home one gold and one bronze and the Philippines who secured one gold.

Hosts Bahrain and Kyrgyzstan won one silver, while Cambodia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Malaysia each won one bronze.

These results are a good sign that pencak silat is increasingly accepted throughout Asia and continues to expand its recognition at the world level.

This historic moment was also witnessed directly by the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Ardi Hermawan, who was present at Hall 1 of Exhibition World Bahrain.

In the opening ceremony of the match, Ardi Hermawan together with the Secretary General of PERSILAT, Teddy Suratmadji, symbolically handed over the Kujang, a traditional weapon from Indonesia, as a sign of the start of the pencak silat competition at the Bahrain 2025 Asian Youth Games.

“Hall 1 Exhibition World Bahrain witnessed the birth of the first pencak silat gold medal at the Asian Youth Games. This is not only history for Indonesia, but also proof that pencak silat is now truly accepted in Asia.” added Benny.

This success cannot be separated from the support and sports diplomacy carried out by the Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC Indonesia).

The General Chair of the Indonesian NOC, Raja Sapta Oktohari, called the success of pencak silat in Bahrain as concrete evidence of Indonesian sports collaboration and diplomacy on the international stage.

“This gold medal is not only a victory for athletes, but also a victory for Indonesia’s sports diplomacy. Pencak silat is the nation’s identity, and today the world is witnessing how our cultural heritage stands equal on the Asian stage,” said Okto.

“In the future, we will continue to see pencak silat appearing again on world stages. Because the main goal is to make pencak silat global,” he added.

As a form of appreciation, Raja Sapta Oktohari also had the honor of presenting medals to the winners of the pencak silat branch at the Bahrain 2025 Asian Youth Games.

This is a symbolic moment that strengthens Indonesia’s position as the center of world pencak silat development.