BINTULU: Sarawak muay thai fighters progressing into the final marks a significant achievement for the Muay Thai scene in Sarawak.
Sarawak Muay Thai Association president Jumaat Ibrahim expressed pride in the fighters’ progress, noting that advancing from the semi-finals to the finals is a significant achievement.
He added that the five fighters in the combat category are just one step away from winning gold, which is a testament to the sport’s growth in the state.
The five muay thai athletes in the final for combat muay thai are Azhad Haziq Syafaat A. Khalid, Texas Jeremy Lo, Muhammad Mikail Ghazali Zulfikar, Cherilynn Christalle Chan Qi Qi and Maurien Hii Sie Lin.
“For everyone’s information, 10 years ago, muay thai was not very well-known in Sarawak.
“However, since the establishment of Sarawak Muay Thai Association Alhamdulillah, since then Sarawak has produced many muay thai fighters that have fought both locally and abroad,” he told reporters when met at the Naim Street Paragon Mall on Sunday (Aug 18).
Jumaat said Sarawak are currently among the top four in the country, and as the president, he was delighted to see the positive rise of muay thai.
“This shows that the muay thai fighters for combat muay thai have reached a very impressive level, having advanced to the finals on Aug 20,” he said.
Today, Sarawak aim to secure more gold medals with the wai khru and mai muay finals taking place.
In the wai khru category, Nur Iklil Zarifah Mohamad Affandi will compete in the female final, while Mifdhal Wafiy Ayatullah will vie for the male title.
For mai muay, Mifdhal Wafiy Ayatullah and Mohamad Azrell Saifullah Abdullah have advanced to the men’s finals, and Ain Arisya Zulkeplie and Nur Arifah Mahsunah Baharom have reached the women’s finals.
“Let’s hope for more successes, there are five fighters in the final. However in another two separate categories we have wai khru and mae muay.
“We trust that all the athletes competing in the final are prepared and hopefully more gold medal will be up for grabs,” he said.
