Karate exponent Arif wants to continue domination in Asia

KUALA LUMPUR: Muhamad Arif Affifudin Ab Malik is determined to continue dominating Asia by going for gold at the Asian Karate Championship (AKF) scheduled in Hangzhou, China on Sept 2022.

He said that he would use the 11th Southeast Asian Karate Federation Championship (SEAKF) in April as a platform to rebuild his confidence, after failing to be on the podium at the Karate K1 Series A Championship in Larnaca, Cyprus last February.

“At SEAKF, I need to secure the gold medal; it’s crucial for me to bounce back. From SEAKF, I can build up confidence before heading to the Asian Championship.

“At AKF, I will compete in the 84-kilogramme category. I won that event at the Asian Games, so I believe I can have a podium finish; I just need to build confidence at SEAKF,” he told Bernama.

On Feb 18, the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallist in the 84 kg kumite event, had to settle for a joint fifth place with Arslan Hasan from Turkey after losing 1-5 to Nikola Malovic from Montenegro in the repechage round of the men’s under 84 kg category.

In the meantime, the 25-yearold said that despite fasting, he is currently undergoing intensive training in preparation for Thailand. He said that every day he undergoes training in the afternoon and evening, and he will only take a short break to celebrate Aidilfitri from April 2426 since the SEAKF championship will take place after the Aidilfitri celebration.

“I really need to train hard because there are many aspects I need to improve, especially my fighting technique. I will discuss with my coach to focus on technique,” he said.