Sarawak Muaythai team celebrates historic victory at SUKMA 2024

KUCHING: Besides Sarawak making history as the overall champion state in the 21st Malaysia Games (SUKMA XXI) after 30 years, the Sarawak Muaythai Association (PMNS) is also proud to have become the overall champion for the first time in this event.

PMNS President Jumaat Ibrahim described the achievement as a cherished milestone and reflected the sacrifices made since the association’s founding a decade ago.

“This year, the Muaythai squad in Sarawak has made a remarkable history where we won 10 medals — five golds, four silvers, and one bronze — and we have won the Muaythai championship, becoming the overall champions of the Muaythai event at SUKMA 2024.

“This is an extraordinary achievement after more than 10 years of hard work.

“We have reached the goal of becoming Muaythai champions at SUKMA at the request of the Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg,” he said.

He said this when met by reporters at the Thanksgiving Ceremony for Sarawak’s Muaythai achievement at SUKMA XXI 2024, held at Eden Garden here last night (August 24).

Jumaat noted that this success aligns with Abang Johari’s broader vision of establishing Sarawak as a sports powerhouse.

Reflecting on the victory, he expressed his gratitude for the unwavering support from the athletes, coaching staff, management, security team, and medical personnel throughout the competition.

He stressed that there were no secrets behind the triumph—just the hard work of the athletes and the association leading up to the event.

Jumaat added that the experience of participating in tournaments and training abroad has also contributed to the athletes’ development, particularly in boosting their confidence when competing.

“We still use traditional training strategies – training after training. But this time we changed our strategy by focusing on exposure, sending them to out of state training and tournaments.

“We needed strong exposure for the young Sarawakians so they could gain high self-confidence,” he explained.

He added that the choice of venue, Naim Street Mall Paragon, garnered positive attention, with the arena management being praised as one of the best.