KUCHING: Karate master Yousef Ataei Khanghah was recently recruited by the Sarawak Sports Council as the head coach of development efforts being put in place to make Sarawak a powerhouse in the contact sport.
The development strategy being worked out by the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) and the council is the catalyst behind the programme with Sarawak now aiming to become a karate powerhouse in Malaysia and potentially in this region.
The Iranian was with the former national and junior squads from 2005 to 2008 before he became Penang head coach from 2008 to 2018.
The 44-year-old also holds a Masters in education (physical sport) from Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.
SSC chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee said: “Presently, we have set up the MSNS Gitokukai Main Dojo at Hui Sing Garden Commercial Centre and the facility serves as a venue for our exponents to meet regularly for training sessions, which are from 2pm to 4.30pm daily.”
“Yousef has already identified 14 exponents to undergo intensive training and this number is expected to grow with collaborations being made with Sarawak Karate Association (Saka) and also its affiliated clubs around the state,” he said.
“MSNS together with Saka will scout for exponents aged between 14 and 20 years old where they will be trained at the Karate Centre of Excellence in Kuching.”
“The training sessions will be conducted by our newly appointed coach and he will concentrating on the development of the kumite (free sparring) standards among our local exponents,” Dr Ong explained.
He added that there was also a proposal on a Sarawak Karate League, which would be the first of its kind in Malaysia and “the event is expected to attract entries from throughout the divisions whereby the tournament bouts may be held on home and away basis.”
“This will be an exciting tournament because the exponents will have the opportunity to meet and compete in many places and thus they will gain valuable exposure as well as experience in competing against the best in every division,” Dr Ong said.
“If the response is overwhelming, we may open the entries to other states as well so as to enable our local exponents to gain good exposure as well as to compete against the best within Malaysia,” he added.
