Sarawak karate team wrap up Sukma XXI outing with bronze medal in men’s team Kumite event

MIRI (Aug 19): The Sarawak karate team wrapped up their outing at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) XXI by securing a bronze medal in the men’s team Kumite event at the Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) Miri today.

Donovan Raphael, Ethan Iskandar Mohamat, Hayden Peri Harem, Imran Shakeel Shaiful Rashdan, Jia Hong Ku and Muhammad Haziq Mohammad Shamsudin defeated Perak 20-11.

Head coach Jarvis Julian said he was very happy and proud of the team’s achievements in the event today, saying he did not expect them to make it to the semi-final and clinch bronze.

“Since becoming their coach in 2016, our karate (Kumite) team has never won a medal and often lost in the qualifying rounds.

“This is the first time we advanced in the match and in fact, we have won a bronze medal for the men’s team Kumite,” he said.

He said the bronze medal was very meaningful for the team, especially for some of the karatekas who will not be participating in the next Sukma due to age limit.

In this year’s Sukma, the Karate event offers 17 gold medals, 17 silver and 34 bronze medals altogether.

Of the 17 gold medals, the Federal Territories grabbed four in the men’s individual Kumite 55kg, men’s individual Kumite 67kg, men’s individual Kumite under-84kg and men’s individual Kumite over-84kg.

Sabah, Johor and Pulau Pinang each took home two gold medals, while Terengganu, Kedah, Sarawak, Kelantan and Selangor each received one gold medal.