What a great start for the Malaysian contingent! 👏🏼
On the first day of the 2023 SEA Games today (May 6), our national karate athletes, C. Shahmalarani and S. Prem Kumar, contributed the FIRST TWO GOLD medals.
The FIRST GOLD was remarkably contributed by the karate prowess C. Shahmalarani in the women’s kumite below 50 kilogrammes (kg) event.
The 25-year-old athlete defeated the 2022 World Games champion from the Philippines, Junna Tsukii Villanueva. Junna started the fight with a 1-0 lead, but Shahmalarani was able to tie it up at 1-1 when Malaysian coach Tamel Abdelraof requested a video review after observing his fighter throwing a punch at the opponent. Later, Shahmalarani was crowned champion by the referee after her moves were more aggressive than her opponent’s.
The karate team, not only finished with one gold but also inevitably won the nation’s second GOLD which was contributed by S. Prem Kumar.
Prem bagged the title in the men’s kumite below 55kg event. The 29-year-old karateka, who was enduring pain from a left wrist injury, scored the opening point in an intense match against Chanphet Setthaphong of Thailand before falling down 3-1. Despite this, Prem Kumar showed astounding fight by managing to score two points in a row to tie the battle at 3-3 until the last moment. He was declared triumphant after earning the first point over Setthaphong.
Prem Kumar becomes emotional upon the great win. Check this out:
Congratulations to all the medal contributors & good luck in the upcoming games! Malaysia Boleh! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
Source: [1]
