KEDAH SUKMA SILAT TEAM TARGETS SIX MEDALS IN SARAWAK

ALOR SETAR, July 19 (Bernama) -- Even though more than 80 per cent of the silat athletes who will represent Kedah at the 2024 Malaysian Games (SUKMA) in Sarawak next month are new faces, the team is confident of delivering six medals at the Games.

Kedah SUKMA silat head coach, Ahmad Faisal Omar said 11 of his 14 athletes are new faces and will be making their debut at the Games and he is confident that two gold, two silver and two bronze medals can be won through artistic and match silat.

"A total of five athletes will compete in artistic silat and nine athletes in match silat...out of that number, only three athletes are old faces but we are confident that the target of six medals can be achieved.

"This confidence follows the commitment and seriousness shown by each athlete even though some are busy with their respective study sessions...it is also seen based on the achievements obtained during the SUKMA Kuala Lumpur in 2022," he told Bernama here, today.

He said, he hopes that a gold medal for the match silat category can be obtained through Nur Izyanie Mysarah Noor Izham who was the gold medal winner at the last SUKMA Games.

"We set our sights on Nur Izyanie Mysarah, but we hope other athletes, especially the new faces, can make a name for themselves at SUKMA this year. Preparation and training are now in the final phase after they have undergone training for the past four months and some of them only had time to undergo training for a month only after completing their exams at their respective universities.

"Training is held every day from 8 to 11 in the morning and 3.30 to 6 in the afternoon.. the commitment given by all the athletes is very high, because it is difficult to get past the preliminary round so they really have to train all the way to be able to go to the final stage, ” he said.

Ahmad Faisal said that his side emphasises the health level of each athlete and always ensures that the level of their injuries can be reduced as soon as possible throughout the training sessions held in preparation for SUKMA.

"Some of them have minor injuries but physiotherapy has been done and in case of serious injuries, they will be referred to a specialist. We want to reduce the risk of injury and make sure they are in good shape before leaving for Sarawak on August 14," he said.

A total of 488 events will be contested at the 2024 Sarawak SUKMA Games which is scheduled to take place from August 17 to 24.

-- BERNAMA