World Silat C'ships: Malaysia win three golds in artistic category

MELAKA, July 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia won three gold medals in the Artistic category at the 2022 World Pencak Silat Championships at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) here today.

In tonight's finals, Mohd Taqiyuddin Hamid and Sazzlan Yuga got the ball rolling in the men’s Ganda category when they defeated Filipino brothers Almohaidib E. Abad and Alfau Jan E. Abad.

The Malaysians displayed a solid performance, beginning with a bare-handed combat routine followed by a long stick and machete, to collect 9,950 points, surpassing the Filipino pair’s 9,930 total.

"We are thankful to be able to defend the gold in this category and, to be honest, we could predict their routine because we have met them several times," Mohd Taqiyuddin told the media after the match.

He added that their courage to take risks by executing fast patterns with the machete also added points because they could have been disqualified if the machete broke or they were injured during their performance.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Syafiq Ibrahim, Nashrul Edam Mohd Asri and Luqman Laji bagged the men’s Regu (Team) gold after scoring 9,965 points to defeat the Indonesian team of Anggi Faisal Mubarok, Asep Yuldan Sani and Rano Slamet Nugraha.

National exponent Merrywati Manuil delivered gold number three in the women's Solo Creative category when she scored 9,950 points to defeat Puspa Arumsari of Indonesia.

However, Nur Shafiqah Hamzah’s hopes of winning the women's Singles gold were dashed when she lost to Indonesian Puspa Arumsari, who won with 9,950 points.

There was no such luck for Mohd Shukrillah Badrilah either in the men's Solo Creative category when he lost to Indonesian Syarif Hidayatullah, who collected 9,960 points.

Despite an energetic routine, Malaysia’s Luqman Laji also failed to match Muhammad Iqbal Abdul Rahman in the men’s Singles category as the Singaporean emerged champion with 9,970 points. 

Over 500 exponents from 40 countries, including hosts Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Canada and Vietnam, are competing in the six-day six-day 19th edition of the World Championships.

-- BERNAMA