THE Penang judo team began the 20th Sukma (Malaysia Games) 2022 on a high note when it claimed two golds and a silver medal at the UiTM Shah Alam Sports Complex today.
The pair of Lim Yi Zheng, 23, and Amir Daniel Abdul Majeed, 18, successfully defended the men’s nage-no-kata title while the women’s pair of Tan Kei Yi, 23, and Siti Nur Aisyah Che Adzmi, 22, retained the women’s ju-no-kata title they won in the last Sukma held in Perak in 2018.
When Yi Zheng and Amir Daniel stepped onto the mat, they knew the pressure was on them as Penang was expected to deliver the goods based on its past achievements.
They did not buckle, but instead, showed nerves of steel.
“We’re happy to maintain our performance and are able to stand on top of the podium again.
“We hope this Sukma victory will spur us to work harder and improve our standard,” Daniel said.
Inspired by their success, Kei Yi and Siti Nur Aisyah came on to make it a double glory for Penang.
Basically, they kept their cool as they executed their moves with confidence and almost flawlessly.
“This is our second Sukma and we are happy to defend our gold medal that we won four years ago.
“We started our Sukma with a gold and end it with a gold as well,” Kei Yi said when approached by Buletin Mutiara after the medal ceremony.
In addition to the two golds, Penang claimed a silver medal through Ng Yi Heng and Yeap Zhangwei-Frederic in the men’s ju-no-kata.
“We are satisfied with our maiden performance in Sukma. We hope to go on and take part in more competitions,” said Yi Heng, who together with Zhangwei, will take part in the National Youth Championships at the end of this year.
At the Nilai National Velodrome, Penang came close to winning another gold but Nurul Aliana Shafika had to finally settle for the silver medal in the women’s 500m time trial.
She clocked 36.618, to finish behind a Kedah rider (35.545) and ahead of a Selangor rider (36.928).
This was her second silver medal in the Games, having finished runner-up in the women’s individual sprint yesterday.
Meanwhile, at the boxing championships in Putrajaya, Penang’s duo of Mohamad Asuad Mohd Halim and Danaraj Anantha Selvam managed to cruise into semi-finals.
Mohamad Asuad proved too good for Lim Zhi Long of Perlis in the men’s light middle event while Danaraj beat Muhammad Fakhrul Hakeem Mohd Radzi of Pahang in the men’s light heavy category.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad