Sabah BJJ fighters shine at P'pines meet
Published on: Friday, May 22, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: More than 15 fighters from the Sabah Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Association have made the State proud during the recently ended 2015 Pan Asian Jiu Jitsu International Open in Manila, Philippines.The championship held from May 15 to 17, and considered the biggest BJJ event in South East Asia saw the local fighters rack up 4 gold, 3 silver and 10 bronze medals.Association President, Allen Solomon Chong said he was pleased with the achievements knowing that most of the fighters are still new in the field.ADVERTISEMENT
"Most of them are first timers to compete in a tournament this magnitude. So for them to achieve podium finishes has already exceeded my expectations."But I think the facet I'm most impressed with is the team spirits in dieting, preparations, training and cornering each other among team members. We emerge a more united family of competitors," he said.Allen who himself won gold in the Masters1 under 70kg Purple Belt Gi, another gold in the Masters1 under 73.5kg Advanced Nogi and bronze in the Adults Advanced under 73.5kg Nogi, announced that an upcoming BJJ tournament will be hosted here in the State."We are hosting the Sabah Open BJJ Tournament sponsored by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in conjunction with the Sabah Youth Festival on August 21.ADVERTISEMENT
"Entrants from Brunei, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore have confirmed their participation. More will sign up when registration opens next month," he said.The surprise of the tournament was 16-year-old Liew Ming Lun who is a sponsored athlete from the youth development programme, winning bronze in the Adult Blue Belt Division.
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Allen would like to specially thank their Brazilian coach, Leke Machado who took the time to fly from Singapore and train them.Meanwhile, CheckmatBJJ & LekeBJJ was another team from Sabah that put out impressive results during the championship.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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