KOTA KINABALU: Six Sabah silat exponents will be among the 38-member national squad competing in three tournaments in Central Asia region until April 3.
The athletes are Mohd Amiruddin Adzmi, Luqman Laji, Sazzlan Yuga, Nur Syazerra Hidayah Idris, Siti Nurkhairunnisa Hail and Merrywati Manuil.
President of the National Silat Federation of Sabah (PSS PESAKA Sabah), Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim, said the encouraging number of Sabah representatives in the national squad was a positive development for the sport, especially in the state.
“It is not easy to have so many athletes from a particular sport being selected into the national team but our silat exponents managed to do so.
“It is a result of hard work, discipline and also having the right planning…we are very proud of the outcome from our efforts that we have athletes who have made it into the world stage.
“For our athletes going to Central Asia, congratulations to all of them and hopefully they will achieve the desired result there,” said Iliyas yesterday.
Iliyas went on to explain that the huge representation from Sabah in the national squad showed that the state silat association was on the right track in implementing its development programme.
“Sabah silat would not have achieved so much without the strong cooperation and support from the Youth and Sports Ministry.
“Hopefully PSS PESAKA Sabah will continue to enjoy such support in our effort to further develop the sport in the state,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iliyas revealed that Sabah should have seven athletes in the national squad for the tournaments but Farah Mazlan has been ruled as she is currently undergoing rehabilitation after going under the knife following a knee injury suffered last year.
For the record, the national squad will first compete in a tournament in Kyrgyzstan before heading to Kazakhstan and then Uzbekistan for further competitions.
This is the first time in almost a year that the national exponents will take part in competitive competitions following the Covid-19 pandemic.
All three tournaments will be a platform to assess the national athletes, where they will compete under new rules and regulations introduced by the International Pencak Silat Federation.
Apart from that, the tournament will be important for the national athletes in their preparation for the SEA Games 2021 in Vietnam in November as well as the World Championship in Sarawak at the end of the year.
The post Six Sabah silat athletes to compete in Central Asia appeared first on Borneo Post Online.