SPORTS
'There are great opportunities for expanding Pencak Silat in Azerbaijan'
Baku, February 15, AZERTAC
“I am glad to be in Azerbaijan. The visit has been so productive. I held a number of meetings. The main goal of these meetings was promoting Pencak Silat in Azerbaijan,” said Director General of the International Pencak Silat Federation, President of the Asian Pencak Silat Federation Sheik Alau’ddin bin Yacoob Marican.
He noted that joint projects would be implemented with the aim of promoting Pencak Silat among the youth, saying “there are great opportunities for expanding the sports in Azerbaijan”.
Mr. Marican also hailed the attention paid to sports in Azerbaijan, saying the country excellently hosted the inaugural European Games last year.
The Director General of the International Pencak Silat Federation said: "We agreed that Azerbaijan would host Grand Prix tournaments this October, and athletes would for the first time compete at an international Pencak Silat tournament to be held in Malaysia in May."
The President of the Federation hailed his meetings with Chief of the State Border Service Elchin Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Ismayil Ismayilov, Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee Chingiz Huseynzade as productive.
Mr. Marican also praised sports infrastructure in Azerbaijan, saying it meets best international standards.
Pencak Silat is an Indonesian martial art specializing in decisive blows and guerrilla tactics. Pencak means Dance or Distraction, and Silat means Attack. Pencak Silat has a lot of styles, there are more than 900 styles in Indonesia.