KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 — The national pencak silat squad ends the 2019 season on a high note after winning four gold medals, eight silver medals and eight bronze medals at the fifth edition of the Asian Pencak Silat Championship which ends in Yanji, China, today.
Three of the gold medals were won in silat tanding events through Mohamad Hazim Amzad in the Putera C class (55-60 kg), Mohd Al Jufferi Jamari (Putera E - 65-70 kg) and Muhammad Robial Sobri (Putera I - 85-90 kg), and the Nor Hamizah Abu Hassan/Nur Syazreen Abdul Malek combination in the silat seni Ganda Puteri event.
Malaysian National Silat Federation (Pesaka) secretary-general, Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, who was contacted by Bernama, expressed pride at the success as the national silat squad had to compete in cold weather touching 15 degree celsius.
‘’This success is something to be proud of because out of the 10 national athletes who advanced to the final, four managed to win gold medals. But I advise them not to be complacent at the achievements because we need to rectify many weaknesses to face several championships next year,’’ he said.
Commenting further, Megat Zulkarnain said he was proud at the extraordinary spirits of several national pesilat including Mohamad Hazim who managed to beat several more experienced opponents from Vietnam and Thailand, other than former world champion, Mohd Al-Jufferi who always exhibited consistent performances at international competitions.
‘’I am also very happy at the excellent performance of Muhammad Robial who succeeded in beating the experienced pesilat Sheik Ferdous Sheik Alauddin of Singapore at the championship this time. I am ecstatic at the consistent performance of our athletes,’’ explained Megat Zulkarnain.
He said the national pesilat would continue their training as normal after this to face three international tournaments, namely, Uzbekistan Open Pencak Silat Championship in Tashkent in January, Four Nations Championship in Kuala Lumpur in February and the Belgium Open Pencak Silat Championship in March.
Other than the four gold medals, Malaysia also won eight silver medals through Muhammad Khairi Adib Azhar in Putera A (45-50 kg), Zulfazly Zulfakar (Putera D - 60-65 kg), Mohd Fauzi Khalid (Putera F - 70-75 kg), Nor Farah Mazlan (Puteri A - 45-50 kg).
The other silver medals were through Nur Syazerra Hidayah Idris (Puteri B - 50-55 kg), Siti Shazwana Ajak (Puteri D - 60-65 kg), Siti Rahmah Mohamed Nasir (Puteri E - 65-70 kg) and Luqman Laji in the silat seni Tunggal Putera event.
The eight bronze medals were contributed by Mohd Amir Izzat Khalid (Putera G - 75-80 kg), Mahadi Che Mohd Nor (Putera H - 80-85 kg), Norfadilah Mohd Zaini (Puteri F - 70-75 kg), Ester Tera Empi (Bebas Puteri- above 75 kg).
The other bronze medals were won by the Mohd Taqiyuddin Hamid and Sazzlan Yuga combination in the silat seni Ganda Putera event, Muhammad Syafiq Ibrahim, Mohd Juned Abdullah and Nashrul Edzam Mohd Asri (Regu Putera/Men’s Trio), Nur Syafiqah Hamzah (Tunggal Puteri), other than the Siti Nur Khairunnisa, Nur Fadhilah Wani and Fatin Ardani combination in the Regu Puteri category. — Bernama
