Indonesia’s sports

Published on Gili Life

LET’S PLAY!

Indonesians love sports. They love playing and they love watching them, especially if Indonesia is one of the contestants! However, the concept of sport, namely as an activity done in the purpose of physical exercise, is pretty new and has been introduced with modern times. Traditionally, many physical activities considered as a sport in most Western countries were usual tribal practices performed daily, which eventually became a source of competition and entertainment. War or social dances, tribal combats, dragon boat and kayak races, bull racing and even archery are all physical practices that had (and have) a ritual, art, religious or martial purpose. The Dutch introduced the concept of competitive sports and this is when badminton and football started to be popular among Indonesians. After independence the Indonesian National Sport Committee (KONI) was created and today it remains the body in charge to organise sporting events across the country. Many venues have been built to host sporting events, the most famous probably being the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, built in occasion of the Asian Games of 1962. This year, Indonesia will host the 18^th Asian Games; held in Jakarta, Palembang (Sumatra) and Bandung (Java), they will run from August 18^th to September 2^nd 2018 and feature over 462 events in 40 different sports!

Indonesians have practiced a variety of physical and competitive activities for centuries, mainly associating them to tribal rituals or forms of art. Here are the most famous:

• • Lompat batu (leaping the stone): practiced by Nias boys (Sumatra) as a coming of age ritual; similar to long jump in athletics

  • Karapan sapi: bull racing festival traditional of Madura (Java), typically occurring between July and October, when bulls are paired and tied to a plow-like contraption and run for about one hundred metres.

  • Dragon boat: watercraft competitions originally from China and practiced a bit everywhere in Indonesia since centuries. Featuring long, man-powered and richly decorated wooden boats.

  • Poco-poco: Traditional dance from North Sulawesi turned into a popular step dance that has been exported as far as Europe! Famous for bringing dancers to the four corners of the space by means of repetitive steps.

  • Sajojo: Traditional folk group dance from Papua modified to become a physical exercise. Unique for its variety and versatility that allows it to be performed by people of any age in a variety of settings.

    Some of the most popular Indonesia’s sports:

    • Archery

    Archery is one of Indonesia’s most classical sports and was chosen as the symbol of Jakarta Gelora Bung Stadium, also as a reference to the Ramayana story, where Rama use his powerful bow in the struggles against the demons.

    In Indonesia, the modern sport of archery can be traced back to the local practice known as “jemparingan”, which originated in the ancient kingdom of Yogyakarta, Java, centuries ago, where was reserved to the members of the royal family. This traditional form of archery differs from the modern sport because archers are not standing but are sitting cross-legged and the target is not circular, but it is a 33 cm stick made of hay and sponge that represents a person. In addition, in jemparingan the string is drawn to the chest and not to the mouth, which is supposed to induce more concentration in the archer. Today, archery is practiced by people of any age and background; the Indonesian Archery Federation and hundreds of clubs and association across the country promote this sport, known for developing concentration, patience and precision. The current most famous Indonesian competitive archer is Muhammad Hanif Wijaya, who at less than 25 years of age has already represented Indonesia in major international tournaments among which the World Championships and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

    • Pencak Silat

    Pencak Silat is an umbrella name for a series of martial arts native to Indonesia. The name dates back to 1948 when the pencak from Java and the silat from Sumatra were unified under a common martial art following independence and the Pencak Silat Association was funded. Pencak and Silat are also considered as two facets of the practice, namely the training and external aspect (Pencak) and the secret techniques of attack and self-defence (Silat). This martial art involves full body fighting and the use of weapons. It is believed to have been introduced by Indian warriors, while the earliest evidence of a formal teaching of this martial art dates back to the 6^th century, when it was taught in Riau, Sumatra. It is reported that some forms of Pencak Silat were used against the Dutch during the colonial era, especially by the Bugis pirates. Today, Pencak Silat is taught in schools and is one of the official sports at the Southeast Asian Games. There exists a variety of styles according to the island and different techniques preferring kicks, strikes or hands and arms. Also the weapons are various and differ greatly, the most famous being the Kris (double-edged dagger) and the Kerambit (half-moon shaped knife). The most important Pencak Silat event is the Pencak Silat World Championship, which takes place every 2-3 year in a different Southeast Asian country.

    • Badminton

    Introduced by the Dutch, badminton rapidly became one of Indonesia’s favourite and most practiced sports. Also known as “bulu tangkis”, the game of badminton has been played at a professional competitive level since the 1950s, when the PBSI (Persatuan Bulutangkis Seluruh Indonesia or Badminton Association of Indonesia) was created and badminton tournaments started to be organised in Indonesian major cities. The most famous national tournament is the Indonesia Open, which every year attracts international elite players. Indonesia has become one of the world’s strongest teams, winning gold medals at almost every Olympic Games since this sport was introduced in 1992. Other very important games at the Thomas cup, the Uber cup and the Sudirman cup. Taufik Hidayat is one of Indonesia’s badminton legendary players; now retired, he became known as an Olympic champion and won the Indonesian Open 6 times.

    • Football

    Together with badminton, football is one of Indonesia’s most popular sports. “Futsal” are a common feature in almost every village and town and boys of any age can be seen playing football almost everywhere. Indonesians also love international football, and it is not rare to find football experts disguised as taxi drivers or shop attendants! This popularity started after independence, though the Indonesian football league started in the 1930’s during the Dutch colonial era and Indonesia was the first Asian country to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1938. In spite of the major internal support, Indonesia has not yet reached international success.

    

Read more about Indonesia’s culture on Margeye