Saturday, July 27, 2013

Karate centre selects athletes for Games

by Jenifer Laeng, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 28, 2013, Sunday

WE ARE READY: Athletes from Miri Karate Excellence Center picked for the upcoming Borneo Games in Labuan.

MIRI: Several athletes from Miri Karate Excellence Centre here have been selected to represent the state for the September Borneo Games to be held in Labuan.

Head coach, Al Harir Muhammad, disclosed that the athletes were chosen during a recent karate selection here.


They faced top picks from Sarawak Shitoryu Karate during the selection trial.

In the individual Kata event, Dayangku Nurdiyana won against Nadzirah Tuwah.


However, Nadzirah Tuwah’s win over a male competitor from Sarawak Shitoryu Karate impressed the panel judges and her coach.

“One of the panel selection judges, Shihan Edward, commented that it was the first time he saw a very impressive kata performance from a female athlete against a male athlete,” Al-Harir said.


Meanwhile, in the male under 75kg kumite, Mohd Ariffin won with a clear advantage over Danstance Tang from Sarawak Shitoryu Karate.


Al-Harir also said that training sessions have been reduced during the fasting month as most of the athletes are Muslims, but added that they will have intensive training soon after the fasting month is over.

“We need to stay focused and do all we can to prepare for the upcoming Borneo Games. We hope we will not only bring more medals back but we hope, through this games, our athletes will be able to learn new things and gain more experiences,” he added.



Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/07/28/karate-centre-selects-athletes-for-games/#ixzz2aIeqC6F5

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Tough task awaits karate exponents in Myanmar SEA Games


By ASHREENA PILLAI


PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s karate squad suffered a double blow when R. Loganesha Rao and Kam Kah Sam quit the national team last month – just seven months before this year’s SEA Games in Myanmar.

Malaysia Karate Federation (MKF) secretary general Vincent Chen said that 2011 SEA Games men’s kumite below 55kg gold medallist Loganesha, who is still undergoing rehabilitation for an unspecified injury, has yet to hand in his resignation letter while 23-year-old kata exponent Kah Sam cited studies as his reason for quitting.

“It’s definitely disappointing. “The first time they came to see me, I managed to talk them out of quitting. But three months later, they came back feeling the same way,” said Vincent.

“It’s their choice. There’s nothing much I can do if their heart is not in it.

“It’s going to be difficult as we still have some fighters still undergoing rehabilitation, like G. Yamini (knee) and K. Teagarajan (unspecified injury).”

Vincent, however, is pleased that the elite and back-up squads’ exponents are progressing well.

At the recent South-East Asian Championships in Manila, Malaysia bagged 11 golds, eight silvers and seven bronzes. Eight of the 11 golds came from the elite exponents while the back-up squad delivered the other three.

Malaysia’s biggest rivals in the region, Indonesia, have also improved tremendously over the years. In Manila, they garnered nine golds, five silvers and 10 bronzes and could pose a real threat to our exponents come December.

“We have a great pool of talent in the back-up squad. They’re just not mature enough to make the transition into the elite squad yet,” said Vincent.

“Unlike us, Indonesia have at least four exponents for each category.

That offers them the flexibility of fielding their strongest line-up at every event.

“That’s why it’s crucial that the National Sports Council (NSC) support the back-up programme ... we have a credible crop of youngsters who are capable of making the grade to the elite squad.

“Ideally, we’d like to be in the same position (as the Indonesians) and rotate our fighters ... switch things up and keep our opponents guessing.”