SACRIFICES

Sharmini fought their heats out for a 2-1 win against Vietnam.

“I had lost to a Vietnam exponent in the individual kata, and after watching our first team exponent Syakilla being beaten, followed by a super comeback from Mathivani, I made a decision while walking in as the third exponent.

“I said to myself, I lost an individual gold and that’s my loss, but I must never let down my team-mates when fighting as a unit,” said Shree Sharmini.

She used to have long hair but three months ago, she cut it short to the style of singer Grace Jones.

“Yes, I used to have very long hair but I cut it short three months ago because of the Sea Games. It’s easier to fight this way,” said Shree, a student at Universiti Putra Malaysia pursuing a Communications degree.

Meanwhile, national karate coach Andris Vasiljevs, after watching his charges end their three day challenge in the Sea Games by winning seven gold, two silver and four bronze medals had this to say: “I will disappear and switch off my phone.

“I want to forget about Karate for a while. I want to spend time with my family. I am very happy with the superb performance displayed by our national exponents.

“Our success is because we are united as a team. I am also very happy with the level of commitment shown by each and every one of them in the team,” he said when met yesterday.

The achievement of bagging seven gold medals surpasses the target of six that was set by the Malaysian Karate Federation (MAKAF) and matches the achievement at the 2013 Myanmar Sea Games.

“However it should have rightfully been more than seven gold medals if not for the sad incident that befell S. Prem Kumar which denied him a place in the final which was a disappointing blow,” Vasiljevs added.

The National Karate team's feat of seven gold medals makes Malaysia overall champions, with Vietnam second after taking six gold.