SUKMA 2024: Sarawak’s Emerging Silat Stars Show Their Strength

By Muhammad Afiff Md Adnan

MIRI, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Sarawak's pencak silat team emerged as a formidable force at the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA), showcasing their potential with a strong performance.

Hosts Sarawak secured five gold medals and seven bronze medals, while Terengganu also claimed five golds, along with one silver, and four bronzes. Sabah followed closely with four golds, three silvers, and three bronzes.

Sarawak's three golds in silat seni came from the men's compulsory regu category (Ahmad Danial Abdullah, Mohammad Nur Azlisham Mohd Ali, Suhaiqal Suhardie), the women's compulsory regu (Nuradriani Fitri Abdullah, Nur Alfianiz Jordon, Vivina Anging Johnton), and the men's solo creative (Mohammad Shamiezal Shapian).

In silat olahraga, Sarawak added two more golds out of the 28 golds contested, thanks to Ummi Mashitah Hassan (Women's Class B, 50-55kg) and Mohamad Nurhasri Maxzakir (Men's Class E, 65-70kg).

Speaking about their success, Sarawak pencak silat head coach Fadzil Jamain said fielding a majority of new faces among the 34 athletes proved fruitful, as evidenced by the five golds they harvested by the time the silat competitions concluded.

“Alhamdulillah, the seven-month training camp in Sibu and Miri has paid off. Sarawak introduced 99 per cent new faces, with only one veteran athlete.

“Regardless, I am confident that the results were achieved due to our strong belief in the process of developing these new athletes,” he said.

The decision to field a new lineup at SUKMA 2024 was far from futile, as Ummi Mashitah has been ‘courted’ by the National Silat Federation (PESAKA) for selection to the national team.

This success signals that Sarawak is serious about becoming a silat powerhouse in the future and serves as a warning to other states regarding their medal ambitions at the next edition in Selangor two years from now.

-- BERNAMA