S.Selvam
Dec 27
IF results of the Philippines Sea Games are a benchmark, then, 2005 will go down as a mediocre year for martial arts in the country.
With some 80 gold medals at stake for the five martial art sports - judo, karate-do, silat, taekwondo and wushu - the national contingent returned with just nine gold medals, and many silvers and bronzes.
Biased judging may be the convenient excuse for the poor haul, but I believe this excuse will also be given when Thailand hosts the Games in 2007.
For that is the nature of the sport - subjective. In fact, that is what makes the sport, to some extent, appealing to its practitioners as well.
In the Philippines, karate emerged as the biggest contributors with four gold medals, while silat and taekwondo returned with three and two gold medals, respectively. In fact, these three sports actually met their respective targets.
While wushu atoned for its "Manila nightmare" by bagging four gold medals in the last week's World Championships, judo's poor run in the Sea Games needs to be looked into seriously.
Granted that the sport does not enjoy the massive support and status that taekwondo and karate enjoy, but the last time judo won a Sea Games gold medal was in 1981, and surely 24 years is enough time to arrest whatever decline the sport had suffered.
Then there is taekwondo, an Olympic sport. Unfortunately, this is one Olympic sport that will soon find itself losing its popularity and support if it continues on in its present path.
In fact, one can write a book on taekwondo's problems and on the antics of its officials.
Last year's Sportswoman of the Year and Olympian Elaine Teo bungled so badly in Manila that, and if it wasn't for the heroics of little known Rusfredy Tokan Petrus, taekwondo would not have met its two-gold medal target.
Elaine bungled because it was based on her request that the national coaches, the National Sports Council and the Olympic Council of Malaysia endorsed the decision to put her in a heavier category simply because she was confident of winning the gold medal in that category.
Furthermore, with a Thai Olympic bronze medallist in her original category, Elaine felt she did not have a chance to win.
This coming from an athlete who has been identified as medallist in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games next year!
Having said that, taekwondo is also one sport where Southeast Asians, judging by the number of quality opponents and Olympic and World medallists, are world class.
The exponents from Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia have produced medallists at the World and Olympic stage, and as such, no matter how much running Malaysian exponents do, they are bound to meet a world class opponent at the Sea Games level.
On the administration front, the de-registration of the Malaysian Taekwondo Asociation (MTA) saw law suits and police reports being lodged at a furious pace.
And while certain parties seem to emphasise that the young exponents and the sport are the ones suffering, they (warring parties) are the ones actually doing all the damage.
As for karate, national coach P. Arivalagan should be given some credit for his boldness in stating that the team was good for seven gold medals in Manila.
Although only four was the final tally, won, Arivalagan's stand is refreshing given Malaysian sport officials' nature of being too conservative with their medal predictions for fear of not meeting the target.
And come 2006, with the Asian Games coming up in December, you can bet that biased judging will rear its head again and officials will be singing the same old tune.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
Friday, December 30, 2005
MALAYSIA:Koryo girls score big in Inter-Club
K.M. BOOPATHY
Dec 19
KORYO Taekwondo Academy made fine start in the inaugural NSC-Milo-MTCA Inter-Club Taekwondo Championships grabbing five gold medals at the National Sports Council’s gymnasium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Koryo were dominant in the Girls’ 14-17 category where they took five of 10 gold medals on offer with multiple national junior champion Koh Jen Li leading the way.
Jen Li clinched the lightweight category beating Seah Kwi San of the Warrior Academy, while Tan Yi Ching of TL Taekwondo Academy and G. Baljhoti settled for bronze.
Koryo also won the finweight gold through Adriana Noryasmin while Nurul Afiqah Harun and Nor Aslinda were victorious in the welterweight and light-middleweight categories respectively.
The fifth gold was delivered by bantamweight Nurul Asfahlina and they can expect more success when the Boys’ 14-17 and Open categories are contested today.
Viva Taekwondo Club (Viva) took two gold medals through the Zulkifli siblings Zulaikha Athirah in the flyweight and Zatil Akmal in the heavyweight categories.
Viva won another gold medal in the Boys’ 10-13 category when K. Sarran Raj won the welterweight.
Terengganu-based Gemilang Academy, Warisan Academy and Bangsar Taekwondo and Fitness Centre (BTFC) won four gold medals each.
Gemilang, who captured 11 gold in the National Junior Championships earlier this year, won three gold medals in the Girls’ 10-13 category.
Wan Nur Alya Afiqah Mustafa won the bantamweight gold, Nur Amalin Aisha Rusdi took the welterweight gold and Nur Dina Shaharuddin won the light heavyweight.
Their fourth gold came in the Boys’ 10-13 category through Azzamuddin Razali in the lightweight event.
Warisan won the Boys’ 10-13 event through Nik Ishraq Hasif in the flyweight, the featherweight through Ahza Syahmi, while Izzati Ahmad (lighweight) and Nik Attilya Hanis (middlweight) delivered in the Girls’ 10-13 age-group.
BTFC won three gold medals through Aiman Nur Najah Kamruzaman (flyweight), Kerry Gan (featherweight) and Fu Hsu Hui (light middleweight), while their fourth gold was delivered by Denise Kok in the Girls’ 14-17 featherweight.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
Dec 19
KORYO Taekwondo Academy made fine start in the inaugural NSC-Milo-MTCA Inter-Club Taekwondo Championships grabbing five gold medals at the National Sports Council’s gymnasium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Koryo were dominant in the Girls’ 14-17 category where they took five of 10 gold medals on offer with multiple national junior champion Koh Jen Li leading the way.
Jen Li clinched the lightweight category beating Seah Kwi San of the Warrior Academy, while Tan Yi Ching of TL Taekwondo Academy and G. Baljhoti settled for bronze.
Koryo also won the finweight gold through Adriana Noryasmin while Nurul Afiqah Harun and Nor Aslinda were victorious in the welterweight and light-middleweight categories respectively.
The fifth gold was delivered by bantamweight Nurul Asfahlina and they can expect more success when the Boys’ 14-17 and Open categories are contested today.
Viva Taekwondo Club (Viva) took two gold medals through the Zulkifli siblings Zulaikha Athirah in the flyweight and Zatil Akmal in the heavyweight categories.
Viva won another gold medal in the Boys’ 10-13 category when K. Sarran Raj won the welterweight.
Terengganu-based Gemilang Academy, Warisan Academy and Bangsar Taekwondo and Fitness Centre (BTFC) won four gold medals each.
Gemilang, who captured 11 gold in the National Junior Championships earlier this year, won three gold medals in the Girls’ 10-13 category.
Wan Nur Alya Afiqah Mustafa won the bantamweight gold, Nur Amalin Aisha Rusdi took the welterweight gold and Nur Dina Shaharuddin won the light heavyweight.
Their fourth gold came in the Boys’ 10-13 category through Azzamuddin Razali in the lightweight event.
Warisan won the Boys’ 10-13 event through Nik Ishraq Hasif in the flyweight, the featherweight through Ahza Syahmi, while Izzati Ahmad (lighweight) and Nik Attilya Hanis (middlweight) delivered in the Girls’ 10-13 age-group.
BTFC won three gold medals through Aiman Nur Najah Kamruzaman (flyweight), Kerry Gan (featherweight) and Fu Hsu Hui (light middleweight), while their fourth gold was delivered by Denise Kok in the Girls’ 14-17 featherweight.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
Sunday, December 04, 2005
MANILA SEA GAMES: Chew Chan regains gold
THE Malaysian taekwondo squad placed their bets on Elaine Teo and Che Chew Chan to deliver the gold medals to meet a two-gold target set for the Manila Games.
Elaine failed to live up to expectations but Chew Chan kept her end of the bargain to deliver the second gold yesterday from the women's middleweight competition.
NO PROBLEM: Taekwondo exponent Che Chew Chan won gold in the middleweight category.
The other gold, an unexpected one, came from Rusfredy Tokan Petrus in the flyweight competition on Tuesday.
On the final day of the taekwondo programme at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila, Chew Chan romped to a 6-1 victory over the Philippines' Veronica Domingo to claim the gold medal.
The 23-year-old Johorean had seen off the challenge of Vietnam's Tran Thi Ngoc Tram, winning 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Team manager M. Rajendran said: “Chew Chan was expected to bag us a gold in Manila and she did not disappoint us at all.
“She was hardly troubled by her opponent in the final. She was in a class of her own to cruise to an easy victory.”
It was the 23-year-old Chew Chan's third appearance in the SEA Games. She was the gold medallist in the 2001 Games in Kuala Lumpur and took the bronze in Vietnam two years ago.
The team will return home with a haul of 2-0-5.
The men's bronze medallists were Mohd Afifuddin Omar Sidek (bantam), Syed Taufiq Abdul Hamid (feather) and Wong Kai Meng (welter).
The women, who contributed bronze medals were A. Gayathiri (welter) and Noornadia Norrizan (bantam).
Source from http://www.thestar.com.my
Elaine failed to live up to expectations but Chew Chan kept her end of the bargain to deliver the second gold yesterday from the women's middleweight competition.
NO PROBLEM: Taekwondo exponent Che Chew Chan won gold in the middleweight category.
The other gold, an unexpected one, came from Rusfredy Tokan Petrus in the flyweight competition on Tuesday.
On the final day of the taekwondo programme at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila, Chew Chan romped to a 6-1 victory over the Philippines' Veronica Domingo to claim the gold medal.
The 23-year-old Johorean had seen off the challenge of Vietnam's Tran Thi Ngoc Tram, winning 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Team manager M. Rajendran said: “Chew Chan was expected to bag us a gold in Manila and she did not disappoint us at all.
“She was hardly troubled by her opponent in the final. She was in a class of her own to cruise to an easy victory.”
It was the 23-year-old Chew Chan's third appearance in the SEA Games. She was the gold medallist in the 2001 Games in Kuala Lumpur and took the bronze in Vietnam two years ago.
The team will return home with a haul of 2-0-5.
The men's bronze medallists were Mohd Afifuddin Omar Sidek (bantam), Syed Taufiq Abdul Hamid (feather) and Wong Kai Meng (welter).
The women, who contributed bronze medals were A. Gayathiri (welter) and Noornadia Norrizan (bantam).
Source from http://www.thestar.com.my
MANILA SEA GAMES: Rusfredy cries in joy after conquering Dech in sudden death
Wednesday November 30, 2005
SABAHAN Rusfredy Tokan Petrus shed tears of joy after winning his first SEA Games gold after a nail-biting 5-4 win over Thailand's Dech Sutthikunkarn in sudden death of the men's taekwondo flyweight final at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila yesterday.
Malaysia won four other bronze medals in the day's competition with the men and the women contributing two each.
The men's medallists were featherweight exponent Syed Taufiq Abdul Hamid and welterweight exponent Wong Kai Meng.
The women's medallists were A. Gayathiri and Noornadia Norrizan in the welterweight and bantamweight divisions respectively.
It was touch-and-go for Rusfredy and Dech and the three-round bout ended with the score tied at 4-4.
In sudden-death, Rusfredy was quick off the mark, finding his target after 15 seconds. He landed the gold medal with a flying kick to his opponent’s chest.
The 24-year-old Rusfredy said: “The visit by the Sports Minister (Datuk Azalina Said Othman) after Elaine Teo's defeat served as inspiration to me.
“She told us not to give up because she still has faith in us winning gold medals.”
It was the second appearance in the SEA Games for Rusfredy. He finished empty handed in Vietnam in 2003 and was determined to do well in Manila.
“The hard work put in during training has paid off. It was tough all the way but I am glad to deliver the gold for Malaysia,” he said proudly.
Source From http://www.thestar.com.my
SABAHAN Rusfredy Tokan Petrus shed tears of joy after winning his first SEA Games gold after a nail-biting 5-4 win over Thailand's Dech Sutthikunkarn in sudden death of the men's taekwondo flyweight final at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila yesterday.
Malaysia won four other bronze medals in the day's competition with the men and the women contributing two each.
The men's medallists were featherweight exponent Syed Taufiq Abdul Hamid and welterweight exponent Wong Kai Meng.
The women's medallists were A. Gayathiri and Noornadia Norrizan in the welterweight and bantamweight divisions respectively.
It was touch-and-go for Rusfredy and Dech and the three-round bout ended with the score tied at 4-4.
In sudden-death, Rusfredy was quick off the mark, finding his target after 15 seconds. He landed the gold medal with a flying kick to his opponent’s chest.
The 24-year-old Rusfredy said: “The visit by the Sports Minister (Datuk Azalina Said Othman) after Elaine Teo's defeat served as inspiration to me.
“She told us not to give up because she still has faith in us winning gold medals.”
It was the second appearance in the SEA Games for Rusfredy. He finished empty handed in Vietnam in 2003 and was determined to do well in Manila.
“The hard work put in during training has paid off. It was tough all the way but I am glad to deliver the gold for Malaysia,” he said proudly.
Source From http://www.thestar.com.my
MANILA SEA GAMES: Elaine falls in first round
Nov 29:
OLYMPIAN and 2004 Sportswoman of The Year Elaine Teo could be the first casualty of the AsiaComm 2006 Special Project squad after she was ditched in the first round of taekwondo's women's bantamweight category at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila yesterday.
The Sea Games is the benchmark to gauge the progress of the AsiaComm elite athletes, comprising 138 of the country's top athletes, and Elaine's failure to even land a medal may cause her a place in the squad.
While officials from the National Sports Council, and even Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said, have repeatedly said that performance, more than medals, is what counts in Manila, Elaine's case is slightly different.
Elaine was beaten 2-1 by Vietnam's Le Thi Thu Nguyet in the first round of the competition. Even Azalina was concerned.
"The Sea Games is the benchmark for athletes in the AsiaComm 2006 project, and we will review their performances in these Games," said Azalina.
"After this, the programmes will also be reviewed, and if they (AsiaComm management team) feel that the athletes are unable to perform, they will be dropped from the squad."
In taekwondo, Elaine and Chee Chew Chan are the two athletes in the AsiaComm programme and were expected to deliver medals at next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games or Doha Asian Games.
In fact, team officials, with the support of the National Sports Council (NSC) and Olympic Council of Malaysia, had gone to the extent of "forcing" Noornadia Norrizan, who was the sole Malaysian to win a gold — in the bantamweight category — in the Asean Championships last year, to compete in a lighter weight category to accommodate Elaine.
However, on a happier note, Mohamed Afifuddin Omar Sidek bagged a bronze in the men's bantamweight, going down 4-2 to Philippines' Tshomlee Go in the semi-finals.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
OLYMPIAN and 2004 Sportswoman of The Year Elaine Teo could be the first casualty of the AsiaComm 2006 Special Project squad after she was ditched in the first round of taekwondo's women's bantamweight category at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila yesterday.
The Sea Games is the benchmark to gauge the progress of the AsiaComm elite athletes, comprising 138 of the country's top athletes, and Elaine's failure to even land a medal may cause her a place in the squad.
While officials from the National Sports Council, and even Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said, have repeatedly said that performance, more than medals, is what counts in Manila, Elaine's case is slightly different.
Elaine was beaten 2-1 by Vietnam's Le Thi Thu Nguyet in the first round of the competition. Even Azalina was concerned.
"The Sea Games is the benchmark for athletes in the AsiaComm 2006 project, and we will review their performances in these Games," said Azalina.
"After this, the programmes will also be reviewed, and if they (AsiaComm management team) feel that the athletes are unable to perform, they will be dropped from the squad."
In taekwondo, Elaine and Chee Chew Chan are the two athletes in the AsiaComm programme and were expected to deliver medals at next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games or Doha Asian Games.
In fact, team officials, with the support of the National Sports Council (NSC) and Olympic Council of Malaysia, had gone to the extent of "forcing" Noornadia Norrizan, who was the sole Malaysian to win a gold — in the bantamweight category — in the Asean Championships last year, to compete in a lighter weight category to accommodate Elaine.
However, on a happier note, Mohamed Afifuddin Omar Sidek bagged a bronze in the men's bantamweight, going down 4-2 to Philippines' Tshomlee Go in the semi-finals.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
MANILA SEA GAMES: Elaine falls in first round
Nov 29:
OLYMPIAN and 2004 Sportswoman of The Year Elaine Teo could be the first casualty of the AsiaComm 2006 Special Project squad after she was ditched in the first round of taekwondo's women's bantamweight category at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila yesterday.
The Sea Games is the benchmark to gauge the progress of the AsiaComm elite athletes, comprising 138 of the country's top athletes, and Elaine's failure to even land a medal may cause her a place in the squad.
While officials from the National Sports Council, and even Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said, have repeatedly said that performance, more than medals, is what counts in Manila, Elaine's case is slightly different.
Elaine was beaten 2-1 by Vietnam's Le Thi Thu Nguyet in the first round of the competition. Even Azalina was concerned.
"The Sea Games is the benchmark for athletes in the AsiaComm 2006 project, and we will review their performances in these Games," said Azalina.
"After this, the programmes will also be reviewed, and if they (AsiaComm management team) feel that the athletes are unable to perform, they will be dropped from the squad."
In taekwondo, Elaine and Chee Chew Chan are the two athletes in the AsiaComm programme and were expected to deliver medals at next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games or Doha Asian Games.
In fact, team officials, with the support of the National Sports Council (NSC) and Olympic Council of Malaysia, had gone to the extent of "forcing" Noornadia Norrizan, who was the sole Malaysian to win a gold — in the bantamweight category — in the Asean Championships last year, to compete in a lighter weight category to accommodate Elaine.
However, on a happier note, Mohamed Afifuddin Omar Sidek bagged a bronze in the men's bantamweight, going down 4-2 to Philippines' Tshomlee Go in the semi-finals.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
OLYMPIAN and 2004 Sportswoman of The Year Elaine Teo could be the first casualty of the AsiaComm 2006 Special Project squad after she was ditched in the first round of taekwondo's women's bantamweight category at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila yesterday.
The Sea Games is the benchmark to gauge the progress of the AsiaComm elite athletes, comprising 138 of the country's top athletes, and Elaine's failure to even land a medal may cause her a place in the squad.
While officials from the National Sports Council, and even Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said, have repeatedly said that performance, more than medals, is what counts in Manila, Elaine's case is slightly different.
Elaine was beaten 2-1 by Vietnam's Le Thi Thu Nguyet in the first round of the competition. Even Azalina was concerned.
"The Sea Games is the benchmark for athletes in the AsiaComm 2006 project, and we will review their performances in these Games," said Azalina.
"After this, the programmes will also be reviewed, and if they (AsiaComm management team) feel that the athletes are unable to perform, they will be dropped from the squad."
In taekwondo, Elaine and Chee Chew Chan are the two athletes in the AsiaComm programme and were expected to deliver medals at next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games or Doha Asian Games.
In fact, team officials, with the support of the National Sports Council (NSC) and Olympic Council of Malaysia, had gone to the extent of "forcing" Noornadia Norrizan, who was the sole Malaysian to win a gold — in the bantamweight category — in the Asean Championships last year, to compete in a lighter weight category to accommodate Elaine.
However, on a happier note, Mohamed Afifuddin Omar Sidek bagged a bronze in the men's bantamweight, going down 4-2 to Philippines' Tshomlee Go in the semi-finals.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
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