Sarawak’s Viviera Junai all fired up for SEA Games debut in women’s sanda

KUCHING (Dec 10):  After three years of relentless work on the mats, 18-year-old Sarawakian Viviera Junai Justine Jawan is set to make her debut for Malaysia in women’s sanda at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, proudly carrying the national colours onto the international stage for the first time.

For Viviera, earning her first national call-up came sooner than she expected — but the pride is unmistakable.

“I’m really happy and proud to represent Malaysia. My goal is to achieve the best result I can,” she said.

The Kanowit-born athlete has enjoyed a breakout year.

In August, she captured the women’s below-60kg title at the National Combat Sports (wushu sanda) Championships in Kuala Lumpur, securing her place in the national squad.

Earlier in March, she also won the 56kg category at a national meet in Negeri Sembilan.

Looking ahead to the SEA Games, Viviera admits the challenge will be tough as this will be her first international outing in this weight category, and she is unfamiliar with the strengths of her opponents.

“Of course my target is first place, but honestly, it won’t be easy,” she said.

To prepare, she has been studying past SEA Games footage, analysing the speed and fighting styles of potential opponents in hopes of picking up useful strategies.

The sanda competition begins on Dec 12, with Viviera scheduled for the very first bout of the day.

Her opponent will only be known after the weigh-in and ballot at the venue.

Viviera took up sanda at the age of 15, after her coach Lyde Lait introduced wushu in school.

Inspired since childhood by her WWE-loving father, she quickly developed a passion for combat sports.

She is currently a student at SMK Kanowit and speaks fluent Mandarin, having completed primary school at SJK Yee Ting.

She admits her biggest hurdles in training have been speed and endurance — both requiring long hours to improve.

Once weighing nearly 70kg, she now maintains a weight of around 60kg to stay competitive in her category.

Lyde, who is Kelab Wushu Rajang  president, described Viviera as a most promising female sanda athlete.

She trains formally on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, which is supplemented with individual conditioning on other days and group sparring sessions at the Sibu wushu centre every weekend.

“Her strength has clearly improved. Her movements are solid and powerful, her footwork is stable, and she has good explosive punching power,” he said.