WUG 2025: Fu Cern Eyes Medal On Debut

From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

ESSEN (Germany), July 16 (Bernama) -- National taekwondo exponent Fu Cern Put Thai is all fired up to fulfil the taekwondo camp’s mission of bringing home a medal at the 2025 World University Games (WUG) in Rhine-Ruhr here.

The silver medallist at the 2024 ASEAN University Games, who is making his WUG debut, said his main goal is simply to reach the podium, although fully aware of the stiff competition from top university athletes from around the world.

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The Pasir Mas, Kelantan-born athlete said he is feeling more motivated after training at the competition venue in Messe Essen.

“This is my first time here, and I’m really excited and motivated. After seeing the venue and training here, I feel even more pumped and ready to compete. The atmosphere is very different from events like the SEA Games, and this is my first time competing on the world stage.

“We’ve been preparing for quite a while. Before coming here, we underwent a two-week centralised training camp in Thailand, which has made me more ready for competition,” said the Universiti Malaya student when met here.

Fu Cern, who won gold at the 2024 Malaysia Games in Sarawak, will kick off his campaign in the -58kg kyorugi category this Sunday (July 20) and expects tough competition, especially from South Korean and Thai athletes.

“My target here is to reach the podium; any medal would make me happy. The competition will definitely be intense, but I’ll give my best to win,” said Fu Cern, who also won bronze at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.

The taekwondo events officially begin tomorrow.

National coach Syed Taufiq Syed Abdul Hamid said the taekwondo camp is targeting at least one medal, regardless of colour. The team also features 2023 SEA Games gold medallist Muhammad Syafiq Zuber and rising poomsae star Yow Mei Yee, and he is not ruling out surprises.

“We aim to reach the podium. We can’t say whether it’ll be gold, silver or bronze. In combat sports, nothing is impossible. Both kyorugi and poomsae offer equally strong medal prospects,” he said.

The last time Malaysia won a taekwondo medal at the WUG was at the 2019 edition in Naples, Italy, when the men’s kyorugi team grabbed bronze to give the national contingent their sole medal.

Malaysia are targeting seven medals at this edition of WUG. Malaysia have sent 64 athletes to compete in six of the 19 contested sports — artistic gymnastics, badminton, archery, athletics, swimming and taekwondo.

-- BERNAMA