Four brace for a torrid time
Silat exponents not only have to fight opponents but fans as well in finals
THREE-time world champion Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari and Mohd Faizul Nasir will be out to silence Indonesian opponents and fans in pencak silat tanding (sparring) finals as they bid to add to Malaysia’s gold medal count today.
Al-Jufferi, Faizul and two others – Mohd Fauzi Khalid and Mohd Khaizul Yaacob – made it a great day for Malaysia when they reached the finals in their respective disciplines after clearing the semi-final hurdles at Padepokan yesterday.
While Al-Jufferi and Fauzi will battle it out today, seasoned campaigners Fauzi and Khaizul will only be fighting on Wednesday in their gold-medal matches.
Yesterday, Al-Jufferi did not even have to break a sweat as he was given a walkover in the Putra E (65-70kg) class after his opponent Zholdoshbek Akimkanov of Kyrgyzstan withdrew citing an injury while Faizul defeated Dumaan Dines of the Philippines 5-0 in the Putra B (50-55kg) class.
The 26-year-old Al-Jufferi goes up against familiar Indonesian foe Adi Putra Komang Harik while 30-year-old Faizul will aim to take down Abdul Malik, nine years his junior.
Team manager Mohamad Mat Amin anticipates an intimidating crowd in the finals today.
“It is going to be a mental battle for Al-Jufferi and Faizul as they are up against Indonesians competing in their own backyard,” said Mohamad.
“Our Malaysian fighters have to be cool as we can expect a very noisy atmosphere as the Indonesian fans can be passionate,” he said.
Fauzi overcame Indonesian Amri Rusdana 3-2 to reach the Putra F (70-75kg) class final, where he faces Vietnam’s Tran Dinh Nam.
Khaizul, a silver medallist at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last year, beat Thailand’s Pokjay Tachin 5-0 to set up a clash against another Vietnamese Nguyen Van Tri in the Putra J (90-95kg) class.
Two other Malaysian contestants settled for bronze after losing their semi-final contests yesterday.
Mohd Hazim Amzad lost 0-5 to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thai Linh in the Putra C (55-60kg) class while Muhamad Robial Sobri fell by a similar margin to Singapore’s Sheik Alauddin Sheik Ferdous in the Putra I (85-90kg) class.