Get me the gold medal
Judo coach Marjan confident his charges can meet target
JUDO coach Marjan Abdullah has challenged his charges to go one step better at the KL SEA Games next month.
The feisty Marjan was the last Malaysian exponent to contest in a SEA Games gold-medal match in Laos 2009.
Marjan, who fought in the men’s below 73kg category, had to be contented with a silver.
He is now the coach of the Malaysian judo squad for the KL Games and he’s hoping that his exponents can win the gold this time.
Judo is generally considered the weakest martial arts sports in Malaysia – with the last SEA Games gold medal coming way back in 1981.
The SEA Games Organising Committee (Masoc) were initially reluctant to include judo despite it being an Olympic sport.
They only relented after intense lobbying by member countries.
At the 2015 Singapore Games, Malaysia returned with five bronze medals.
Marjan feels that with better preparation, this could be the right time to end Malaysia’s gold-medal drought.
“There’s no better chance for us to show that judo has a place in the SEA Games. The National Sports Council (NSC) have been supportive and have included us in the Kita Juara programme.
“With the support, we managed to get funding for those chosen for the SEA Games to attend a two-month training stint in Mongolia.
“We identified our exponents early because there are only six events for judo,” said Marjan, who took over as national coach in 2013.
Unlike karate and wushu, the judokas are not expected to deliver gold as they will be up against Thai and Indonesian exponents who have won at the Asian-level.
“But I have told my exponents to fight for the best results. I hope either Mohd Farhan Uzair (below 73kg) or Nor Izzatul Fazila (below 78kg) can reach the final this time. They came close to winning their semi-final bouts in Singapore,” said Marjan. “Hopefully, one of them will end up a gold medallist.”
Marjan will get a better idea of his charges’ chances of ending Malaysia’s gold-medal drought when they compete in the Taipei Asia Open from July 8-9.
“Not only are exponents from SEA participating, but we will also have Olympic medallists from the Asian continent there,” he said.
I hope either Mohd Farhan Uzair (below 73kg) or Nor Izzatul Fazila (below 78kg) can reach the final this time.
Marjan Abdullah