Sukma XXI: Sarawak crowned overall champion for muaythai, team exceeds expectations with five gold medals

BINTULU (Aug 21): The Sarawak muaythai contingent has exceeded expectations at the 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma XXI) with an impressive five gold medals, far surpassing the initial two-gold target.

The five gold medallists were Mifdal Wafiy Ayatullah, Mohamad Azrell Saifullah Abdullah, Maurien Hii Sie Lin, Muhammad Mikail Ghazali Zulfikar (Miki), and Texas Jeremy Lo.

“We congratulate the muaythai athletes for their outstanding performance,” Sukma XXI chef de mission Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu told the media on the sidelines of the muaythai combat final at Naim Bintulu Paragon Street Mall yesterday.

He praised the dedication and hard work of the muaythai team, expressing gratitude for their efforts.

“Being crowned the overall champion in muaythai is a significant milestone for Sarawak,” he said.

Gerald also thanked the Sarawak Muaythai Association for successfully organising the event for Sukma.

“We can see many muaythai clubs evolving, which provides us with a broader pool of talent for Sarawak.

“I believe that our performance is at a higher standard, and we hope to see even more improvement, especially in the women’s category, to elevate the quality of our muaythai competitions,” he said.

He pointed out the growth of muaythai in Sarawak, with clubs now present in almost every town.

“I am very positive about the future of muaythai sport in Sarawak,” he said.

Gerald, who is also Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Deputy Minister, also expressed optimism that Sarawak would be able to win 70 gold medals for Sukma XXI.

“If we maintain this momentum, we expect to achieve even more,” he said.

He added many more events are scheduled in the coming days and hoped Sarawak’s athletes will continue to win many more gold medals.

Among those present were Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Sarawak muaythai assistant chef de mission Johnny Pang, and Sarawak Muaythai Association President Jumaat Ibrahim.