17.10.2010
By SHAMSHUL FITRI
MALACCA: Malaysia failed to land a medal on the last day of the World Junior and Cadet Karate Championships at the Malacca International Trade Centre yesterday.
The closest Malaysia came to a place on the podium was in the boys’ cadet (14-15 years) team kata (non-combat) event.
The team of Joshua Wong, Goh Chan Kit and Loh Chun Sheng started out well in the first round, beating South Africa 5-0 to book a spot in the quarter-finals against Austria.
Despair: Malaysia’s Chew Hang Tiong (left) in tears after losing to Iran’s Masoud Parviz in the kumite above 70kg class of the World Junior and Cadet Karate Championships yesterday. — A. MALEX YAHAYA / The Star
Malaysia then scored another comprehensive victory, beating Austria 4-1 to earn a semi-final spot against Italy.
The Malaysian team, however, were narrowly beaten 2-3 by the Italians, leaving them to battle it out for the bronze medal in the repechage rounds. But Kuwait proved too strong for Malaysia, winning 5-0 to take the bronze.
National coach Lim Lee Lee said they lost to a better team in the repechage rounds.
“They started out well with a 5-0 win in the first round.
“The loss to Italy was very narrow and it shows that they have the potential to be better next time.
“Most of them in the team are relatively new and this is their first time competing in a major event.
“Overall, I’m satisfied with their performance,” said Lee Lee.
In the kumite (combat) events, R. Vijaya Kumar’s hopes of winning a medal in the boys’ Under 63kg came to nought when he lost 0-3 to Shamil Guliyev of Algeria in the third round.
For the record, Malaysia ended the tournament with a bronze through Under-21 kata exponent Lim Chee Wei on the opening day of the tournament on Thursday.
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