M’sia karate on mission to retain SEA Games crown

HANOI: The Malaysian Karate Federation (Makaf) is confident that the national squad can retain their overall champions status in the 31st SEA Games when the combat sport competition gets underway at the Ninh Binh Gymnasium today.

Makaf secretary-general Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad said the squad started preparing early for the biennial games and are targeting to win at least three of the 15 golds up for grabs.

“We have emerged champions for three consecutive times (2013, 2017 and 2019), so we want to retain the crown in Hanoi,” said Nur Azmi, who is also Malaysia’s chef de mission.

“I want my athletes to be focused.

“To get more than that is better, because when we go for tournaments, especially SEA Games, we want to maintain our performance and collect as many medals as possible,” he told Bernama.

Six events - men’s and women’s individual kata; women’s below 55kg and below 61kg kumite; and men’s below 60kg and below 67kg kumite - will be contested today in Ninh Binh, about 90km from Hanoi.

Team manager Mohd Razlan Shah Mohamad Rabii said the gold medal prospects include S. Prem Kumar (below 60kg), R. Sharmendran (below 75kg) and the men’s kumite team.

“We also see our chance to win gold in other categories. Kata events also present opportunities.

“Insya-Allah we hope to successfully defend the gold won in the Philippines,” Mohd Razlan Shah said.

He is confident Malaysia can retain the overall champions title by winning at least four gold medals.

In the 2019 edition in the Philippines, Malaysia won four golds through Prem Kumar, Sharmendran, Madhuri (women’s below 55 kg) and men’s kata team (Thomson Hoe, Ivan Oh and Emmanuel Leong), and four silvers.

In the 2017 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia grabbed seven gold, two silver and four bronze medals, while in Myanmar in 2013, they won seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals.

Karate was not contested in Singapore in 2015.