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
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