MALACCA (27/7/2022): Malaysia’s three-time world champion Mohd. Al Juferi Jamari lived up to the nation’s expectation with a comfortable win over India’s Suraj Kumar to advance to the next round of the 19th World Pencak Silat Championship.
Competing in Class F (70-75kg), Mohd. Al Juferi received a strong challenge at the beginning of the first round when Suraj was given the opportunity to take a 4-2 lead. The tables were quickly turned in a few minutes as the four-time SEA games champion dominated Suraj in the last two rounds to win 41-16.
Mohd. Al Juferi was satisfied with his performance and praised his opponent’s competitive spirit. However, he remained modest and said,” first and foremost, I would like to praise the almighty for giving me the strength to compete in such a competitive platform. With the grace of the almighty, I’m still able to compete with full confidence despite my injury”
He added “I have always had a huge respect for all the opponents which I have faced throughout my silat career. Though many said that Suraj could be an easy meat for me, I didn’t allow their opinions to get into me. I really admire Suraj’s fighting spirit and the passion that he has towards this art-form.
I believe all silat exponents are unique in their own way as they all have the capabilities to succeed in this sport. As a veteran silat athlete, I suggest the young talents to always polish their skills by observing and practicing more silat techniques and tactics via YouTube and other learning platforms”
Mohd. Al Juferi also expressed that his combat movements were now limited due to the injury which he sustained while competing in last May’s Hanoi SEA Games.
“I can say that I’m only 70 percent recovered. The coach had prepared tactics to prevent my injury from getting worse prior to the match.
“For tomorrow’s next round, I will meet Alvin from the Philippines. He is not a new opponent for me,” he added.
Mohd. Al Juferi and Alvin T Campos often met in many competitions before, mainly in the Class E category (65-70kg).
“As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, each person’s weight has increased and now we are excited to meet in the Class F category tomorrow,” he concluded.
Earlier Luqman Laji, who was the first national silat exponent to step into the ring, advanced to the next round when he collected 9.940 points to defeat his competitor from Brunei Muhd. Ali Saifullah Abdullah Md. Suhaimi won 9.905 points in the men’s singles event.
The excellence of the silat athletes continued in the men’s creative solo category when Mohd. Shukrillah Badrilah collected 9.895 points to beat Vietnamese fighter Tran Duc Danh who obtained 9.890 points.
Merrywati Manuil, Fatin Ardani Zamri and Siti Khairunnisa Hail who represented Malaysia’s in the women’s regu team match were defeated by the Indonesian team as they narrowly lost by 0.01 points after 9.935 points.
Nevertheless, Merrywati still competed in the creative solo category as she collected 9.935 points to beat Kazakhstan’s champion Traize Regina who collected 9.865 points.
