Comeback ‘kid’ eyes a golden return to the SEA Games in Manila

PETALING JAYA: It’s never easy to make a successful comeback to the top after leaving the national team but karate exponent L. Kunasilan (pic) is willing to give it a shot.

At 33, schoolteacher Kunasilan has rejoined the national karate team with the aim of winning gold in the men’s kumite below 60kg event at the Philippines SEA Games in December.

Former SEA Games gold medallists Kunasilan and Nisha Alagasan are among 14 exponents called up by the Malaysia Karate Federation to join the national set-up for the SEA Games.

Kunasilan and Nisha emerged as the runners-up in their respective men’s kumite below 60kg and women’s kumite below 55kg at the just concluded National Karate Championships in Serdang.

Kunasilan, the Asian Games silver medallist in Doha in 2006, left the national team six years ago but said he has never given up the sport.

“I left after taking silver in the team event at the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013 but I never stopped training,” said Kunasilan, who teaches physical education in SMK (Methodist) ACS in Ipoh.

“I train independently and still continued to take part in the national championships as karate has always been in my blood.

“I was confident of becoming the national champion again. I told national coach (Ali Reza Souleymani) that I will return to national team on merit by winning the gold.

“I was already leading 3-1 in the final (at the national meet) but I was not aware of the new technical ruling in place.

“I was disqualified for a grabbing fault but the coach felt I had proven myself,” said Kunasilan.

The Perak-born exponent said he owed it to his students and supporters to beat the odds to feature in the SEA Games for the sixth time.

“I want to show that age is not a factor. I will try to make it to the SEA Games and bring home the gold for my country again,” he said.

“I want to thank my family members, the state coaches (Sihan Ananthan, Dorai Raj and Prem Kumar) and my former national coach P. Arivalagan for sharing the knowledge and turning me into a champion.

“Also not forgetting my former national teammates for helping as sparring partners and my colleagues at school for supporting me,” added the former national team captain, who will be going for the South East Asia Karate Championships in Laos next month.