KUALA LUMPUR: Two Perak Muay Thai athletes, Mohammad Rifdean Masdor and Nur Amisha Azrilrizal won the gold medals at the 2019 East Asia Muay Thai Championship in Hong Kong, which ended on Sunday. Mohammad Rifdean, 2019 World Muay Thai Championship silver medalist, and Nur Amisha, 2016 junior world champion, each emerged champion in the men’s 48
kilogrammes (kg) and women’s 51 kg after beating the host representative and an athlete from Taiwan at the final action.
Perak Muay Thai chief coach, Bernard Radin, who did not set a target prior to this, regarded the successes as additional tonics other than boosting the motivation of his athletes for the 2019 World Junior Championship in Turkey, early next month.
‘’Sincerely, no target was set because the championship was more of a warming up event before going to Turkey because I don’t want them to peak too early. But what were reaped are to be proud of especially when a much younger athlete could overcome a much bigger and more experienced athlete. ‘’Definitely, these successes will spur them both to deliver their best in Turkey. I am confident of their capabilities.
They are still young and have big potentials,’’ he said when contacted by Bernama. Mohammad Rifdean and Nur Amisha, both 17 years old, were two of the five athletes from the national Muai Thai Podium squad who took the national challenge to the championship, which saw Malaysia taking home three gold medals and two bronze medals.
In the meantime, Mohamed Mahmoud won the third national gold medal today when topping the over 67 kg category while Zulhelmi Rosli and Tasha Amira had to settle for bronze after losing in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Malaysian Muai Thai Association (MMTA) president Datuk Muhammad Shahnaz was satisfied at the performance of the national squad especially at the commitment and sacrifices by Mohammad Rifdean dan Nur Amisha. – Bernama
