The 17th World Pencak Silat Championships took place in Denpasar, Bali in December 2016, with five British fighters representing the UK. The PSF UK team was one of 38 teams taking part from across the world in the Sports (Tanding) and Artistic (Seni) categories.
For the first time, a UK Wasit Juri was selected for duty at a World Championships — Arif Kokkoz, International Wasit Juri Level II, performed as both Wasit and Juri throughout the Championships. In his closing speech, PERSILAT President Mr Prabowo Subianto emphasised that Pencak Silat was a way to promote friendship and harmony between all peoples and religions.
Competition Report
Fahim Ahmed was the first UK fighter to compete. In his first World Championships, Fahim faced a much more experienced competitor from Malaysia in Male Class D and did not get through to the next round.
Arash Adami faced Felix Fernando of the Netherlands in Male Class I. Arash made a promising start, winning the first of three rounds, but eventually lost to his opponent.
Racan Osman was pitched against Eckhan Javarov in Male Class C. British hopes were high after Racan's recent Silver medal at the Dutch Open, but it was a tough match and Racan did not get through to the next round, while his opponent went on to win the Silver medal.
In the first round of Male Open class, Samir Ghanim faced Loic Latyr Sar of Senegal and beat his opponent with a decisive 5 flags to 0, going through to the Semi-Final. Djibril Aoudou, who had won Gold at the 2016 Dutch Open, faced an experienced professional fighter from Indonesia in Male Class J and eventually lost the match.
Samir was then pitched against Roland Goedhart of the Netherlands — the current European Champion. The points were very close, but Roland managed to take Samir down twice in the last round, building on his points and winning 3 flags to 2. Samir earned Bronze — a fantastic result at the highest level of the sport.
The last day of competitions was attended by His Excellency Bapak Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia. Before closing the Championships, President Widodo revealed that Pencak Silat would feature as an exhibition sport at the 2020 Olympic Games — a milestone moment for the sport worldwide.