Suksar: Southern Zone judokas show their class with four titles

SIBU (Jan 17): Judo powerhouse Southern Zone bagged four out of six gold medals on offer at the judo competition which kicked off at Azman Hashim Community Centre today.

Their male and female judokas collected two titles each.

Chloe Hiu Xhi Yuan started the ball rolling for her by nailing the 55kg category, pushing Joelle Leong Se Mun from Central Zone into second place and Clarisse Chelsea Jerim from Northern Zone third.

Carmen Lee Jia Wen then wrested the 63kg title from Ashley Tan Yi Xuan of Central Zone with Amanda Ong of Northern Zone collecting the bronze.

Micheal Leano Jerim emerged as the men’s 66kg winner followed by Janson Kuan from Central Zone and Carlson Voon of Northern Zone.

The men’s 81kg title was lifted by Ethan Lee Ming with Central Zone’s Xu Hai Ding second and Northern Zone’s Jacob Noel Dylan third.

Central Zone heavyweight Elisha Noel Dylan won his zone’s first gold medal in the +81kg category followed by Lau Chien Sien from Southern Zone and Lau Swee Hung from Northern Zone.

The women’s +63kg title was captured by Northern Zone’s Tan Xin Hung as Leng Ko Jia of Central Zone and Lee Yi Han of Southern Zone collected the silver and bronze.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Judo Association president Dato Sri Lau Kueng Chai expressed optimism for the sport with Sibu hosting the Sarawak Games this time.

“This is a big breakthrough for the development of judo in Sibu and, hopefully, Suksar will help spur more youngsters to take up the sport,” he said when giving away the prizes.

“Sarawak has never won any gold medal in the past Sukma and, this year, we are working to make a difference and we are confident of getting some gold medals (in the 2024 Sukma).”