Postponement perfect for honing karate exponents' skills – Arivalagan

KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories' Malaysia Games (Sukma) karate team manager and former national coach Datuk P. Arivalagan was looking forward to guiding his charges to a repeat of their 2018 feat in Perak, when they emerged joint overall winners with Penang, in the Johor edition this year.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to his plans. The Johor Sukma has now been postponed to 2022.

But then Arivalagan is not one to dwell on disappointments and setbacks, preferring instead to look at the postponement as a blessing in disguise - giving his charges more time to hone their skills.

And as he aptly puts it: “Fundamentally, sports is a challenge. Without challenge, there is no sports. So, we look at the pandemic positively… as one of the many challenges the sport is facing.

“Of course there's a tinge of disappointment (about the postponement) because the athletes waited for two years to compete. However, we understand that this is not something that is within our control,” he told Bernama yesterday.

Arivalagan, though, is actually more excited about having more time to work on his exponents' skills, saying: “Karate has evolved into something that is pure power and speed, with the actual skill taking a back seat.

“So, right now, I have taken advantage of the ample time available to work on their skills. I am very glad that my athletes enjoy learning from me as much as I enjoy teaching the art of karate to them.”

The seven-time SEA Games champion believes that proper skills will immensely aid the development of karate in the country and help his charges raise their performance level when competitions resume postpandemic.

Meanwhile, Arivalagan also hopes that the Johor Sukma organisers will raise the age limit from Under-21 to Under23 so as to give the exponents a chance to compete and accomplish their missions.