By Harry Izzdin
KUCHING: The national Silambam team triumphed at the Asian Open Silambam Championship in Qatar on Friday, securing a remarkable 12 gold medals to be crowned overall champions.
In a Facebook statement on Saturday, Dr. M. Suraess, Malaysia Silambam Association president, praised the outstanding performances of six national athletes who each won two gold medals, one in the ‘thanithiramai’ (individual artistic staff spinning) category and another in the ‘poruthal’ (combat) category, at the Doha Sports Complex.
The gold medalists included Prakash in the men’s open (over 60kg), Shastivena in the girls’ under 17 (55kg-65kg), and Leenasree (30kg-40kg), Kavithira (45-55kg), Darnisha (55kg-65kg), and Ranishaa (above 70kg), all in the girls’ under 15 category.
He noted that the hosts nation Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) finished in second and third place, respectively, in the competition, which also saw participation from India and Saudi Arabia.
“We made history by winning the overall title.
“Six of our athletes who earned medals at the Sarawak SUKMA (Malaysian Games) in August were among those who competed,” Dr. Suraess remarked.
The closing ceremony was honoured by the presence of the Malaysian Ambassador to Qatar, Mohammad Faizal Razali, who had the privilege of presenting the overall champions trophy to the victorious team.
