PHNOM PENH: Malaysia grabbed its first gold medal of the 2023 SEA Games after karate exponent C Shahmalarani beat the Philippines’s world champion Junna Tsukii in the women’s kumite below 50kg final in Phnom Penh.
Stadium Astro reported that Shahmalarani won the title decider through a referee’s decision after the scores were tied 3-3. She was then awarded three out of five votes.
Another karate exponent, S Prem Kumar, won the country’s second gold medal moments later when he bagged the men’s below 55kg title after defeating Thailand’s Chanphet Setthapong 3-1.
Tsukii, a Filipino-Japanese karate exponent, had eased past Shahmalarani 5-1 in the final of the Southeast Asian Karate Federation Championships (SEAKF) in Phnom Penh in March.
Earlier today, mountain biker Nur Assyira Zainal Abidin won the silver medal in the women’s cross-country Olympic individual event, a repeat of her achievement at the last edition in Hanoi last year.
Bernama reported that Indonesian Sayu Bella Sukma Dewi topped the 18.5km race which took place in weather conditions reaching almost 40° Celsius, with a time of 1:13.48. Nur Assyira came in at 1:17.09 while Thailand’s Yonthanan Phonkla recorded 1:18.42 to claim bronze.
Two other national riders, Phi Kun Pan and Natahsya Soon, finished the race in eighth and 10th positions respectively after recording times of 1:24:37s and 1:26:42s.
Obstacle race events contributed Malaysia’s first medals at the SEA Games today when Yoong Wei Theng and Wan Athirah Hidayah Ahmad Fuzli claimed bronze in the men’s and women’s individual events respectively.
