Kota Kinabalu: Sabah showed their status as the country’s Muay Thai powerhouse in the National Youth Open Muay Thai Championship and Pre-Sukma held at Universiti Putra Malaysia in Serdang recently.
Their Team A’s total haul of 15 golds, 12 silvers and five bronzes lifted them to the overall title, well ahead of second placed Bullet Muaythai Club who only managed seven golds, seven silvers and five bronzes, and in third place were Combat of Shadow Muaythai Club with seven golds, two silvers and four bronzes, while Sabah Team B did well to win two golds, five silvers and eight bronzes.
The Sukma-bound athletes also issued an early warning to their rivals as they bagged seven golds, seven silvers and three bronzes at the pre-Sukma competition.
World champion Angie Yan Jia Chi was among the gold medal winners in the women’s solo wai khru title with 9.36 points.
The others were Muhammad Iftikharsyahlan Roslan in the men’s solo wai khru with 9.23, Myra Arina Roslan and Jezzevelle Myora Jerry in the women’s duo mai muay (9.26), Asyraf Daniel Abd Latif and Marshall Jaydden Jerry in the men’s duo mau muay (9.16), and the combat trio of Nurinsyirah Mandol (45kg), Eva Anastasia Warren (48kg) and Awang Hazmie Ag Handra (63.5kg).
The silvers came from Ariesya Dania Abd Latif in the women’s solo wai khru (9.06), Asyraf Daniel Abd Latip from Team B in the men’s solo wai khru (9.16), Genesis Raymond (57kg), Hellmi Samsir (71kg), Stacy Poong Dai Hee (57kg) and Joezhita Joyssie (51kg), while the bronze medallists were Efron Jaidin (60kg), Kerry Dryan Jafili (67kg) and Muhammad Rahmad Raman Ali Chanra (45kg).
The medals winners in the junior championship were golds from Eldrianna Mayrielle Eldainka, Eldaniella Mayriebel Eldainka, Evan Arron Warren, Dijibril David Joseph, Lola Arianna Mohd Fairuz, Dazaisy Hafiy Aznee, Siti Alisya and Dheafathonah Syafiee Yusin.
The silvers were delivered by Jordan Bryan Billy, Mohd Amin Sha Andre Narul Haizad, Christy Xiu Ning Siow, Ezzetty Ellysandra Abdullah, Kelly Leong Phei Shan, Nur Aina Kisya Yurdi, Qayla Adreana Andy while the bronze medals came from Mcadden Javier Jerry and Dylon Llouie James.
Four individual titles were also awarded to Nurinsyirah Mandol (best female senior boxer), Angie Yan Jia Chi (best performance art), Eldrianna Mayrielle Eldainka (best female junior boxer) and Dheafathonah Syafiee Yusin (best male junior boxer).
Sabah Muaythai Association president Nazri Abd Razak was happy that the Sukma contingent managed to exceed their five-gold target and warned them to stay focused and prepare for the actual games scheduled in Sarawak next month.
“The journey is still not over. Our main target is Sukma 2024. Hopefully the athletes will continue to work hard to achieve more success in Sarawak,” he said.
Meanwhile, head coach Cyrille Dhillon Tahing was also impressed by the achievement and he urged them to keep their feet on the ground.
“I am satisfied with the performance of our Sukma athletes despite this being their first national championship this year.
“However, they must be aware that they are not in a comfortable position yet, as this is just a warm-up tournament and their main target is the Sukma 2024, so they must continue to train and work hard.
“The juniors also did very well with athletes from Tambuakar Martial Arts Club Papar and 66 Unicorn Sandakan delivering excellent performances.
“Congratulations to all four who received the awards as well,” he added.
