Sukma XXI: No medals for S’wak in karate’s Kata individual’s category

MIRI (Aug 17): Sarawak failed to deliver any medals from the Malaysia Games (Sukma) XXI Karate’s individual Kata event held at the Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara Miri today.

Annabelle Ping Balan, 19, failed to retain the bronze medal she won in the 2022 Sukma after losing to Ph Ng Lebin from Penang, who earned a score of 38.9 against the former, who received a score of 37.0 in the women’s category.

An emotional Annabelle when interviewed said she had given her best, but luck was not on her side in today’s event.

“I did my best but I guess luck was not on my side today. Nevertheless, I am proud of myself for making it to the semi-final.

“I will surely make a comeback and do better in the next Sukma,” she said,

Her coach Al-Harir said he was proud of her performance today, and believed she had done her best.

“There was no mistake on her part. She had given her best — in fact, her performance was good. The only thing that needs to be improved for next Sukma is for our athletes to have more exposure and mental strength,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the men’s individual Kata category, Sarawak’s Muhammad Raziq Repdaniel Abdullah was downed by his challenger Kwang Lih Wong from Johor in the quarter-final.

The finals for the individual category will kick off later today.