Sukma XXI: Six Sarawakians go to muaythai combat semis tomorrow

BINTULU (Aug 17): Six Sarawak muaythai combat fighters have secured their spots in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) XXI semifinals set to take place tomorrow (Aug 18).

In today’s quarterfinals, three fighters triumphed in their respective bouts, advancing to the semifinals.

The victorious trio includes Cherilyn Christalle Qi Q Chan, Texas Jeremy Lo, and Mohammad Izzat Zulfaqar Hazrid.

Cherilyn defeated Reshwareeyaa Raai Mani Maran 29-20 in the women’s 54kg bout.

Texas Jeremy needed only five seconds to secure a victory over Kelantan’s Mohamad Rafid Aizril Mohd Farid Izuan in the men’s 54-57kg event.

Izzat clinched his semifinal spot in the men’s 60-63.5kg category by narrowly defeating Awang Muhammad Hazmie Awang Handra of Sabah with a score of 21-19.

In another notable match, ONE Championship fighter Ahmad Nor Iman Aliff Rakib from Terengganu advanced to the semifinals after defeating Muhammad Adib Mohd Ramlee from Negeri Sembilan in the men’s 60-63.5kg event.

Sarawak-born muaythai star Mohd Rifdean Masdor, a Sukma gold medalist in 2018 and 2022, was among those cheering for the Sarawak team’s victories.

Joining them in the semifinals tomorrow (Aug 18) are Muhammad Mikail Ghazali Zulfikar (Men’s 51-54kg), Maurien Hii Sie Lin (Women’s 48-51kg), and Azhad Haziq Syafaat Abdul Khalid (Men’s 67-71kg).