State silat exponents win gold
KOTA KINABALU: Silat is taking a new stride in Sabah after winning a gold medal in the 9th UPSI International Silat Championships in Perak, recently.
The championship was hosted by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris on March 20-25 and featured exponents from within and outside Malaysia.
According to leaders in the sport, a gold medal showed that progress was being made in the development of silat in the state.
The Yang Dipertua Persatuan Seni Silat Sabah (PSS) Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Negeri Sabah (PESAKA Sabah), Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim said the gold medal won by Nor Farah Mazlan was a very good achievement based on the international status of the tournament.
"Participants at the championship included athletes from outside the country and I think one gold and three bronze medals are a very good achievement.
"This is a good starting point and PSS PESAKA Sabah will continue to strive in future competitions including in the up-coming Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Perak this September," he said.
Iliyas was accompanied by PSS PESAKA Sabah officials and Sabah Sports Council officer Redwan Osman to receive the team at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on Monday.
Incentives were presented to medal winners.
The bronze medals were contributed by Andi Azura Muluk, Norsyakirah Muksin and Mohammad Amiruddin Adzmi.
"Congratulations to the team and also to our officials guru Moksin and guru Hilman who were invited for duty at the championship," said Iliyas, while thanking SSC for looking after team's welfare during the competition.
More than 3,000 exponents from 118 teams took part.