Asian Games: Malaysia's Arif wins karate gold despite injuries
HANGZHOU - The pain and sacrifices national karate exponent Muhammad Arif Afifuddin Ab Malik has had to go through in nursing old and new injuries were rewarded handsomely today after he delivered Malaysia’s 6th gold medal on the 14th day of the Hangzhou Asian Games here.
The 23-year-old, who had been carrying a lower back and rib injury, upset World Championship bronze medallist Daniyar Yuldashev of Kazakhstan 10-4 in the below 84kg Kumite (combat) final.
He also experienced some painful moments after his opponent landed a strong punch on his right eye during a counter-attack 15 seconds before the end of the fight.
Earlier, world takraw powerhouse, Malaysia’s dream of retaining the inter-regu gold medal was dashed after losing 0-2 to Thailand in the final played at the Jinhua Sports Centre Gymnasium.
National rhythmic gymnast Ng Joe Ee, 17, also gave a commendable showing despite having to perform through injuries to end the competition in 11th spot in the final of the women’s individual all-around event.
The women’s hockey team meanwhile could only register a narrow 2-1 win over Thailand in the fifth and sixth classification match to make it into the 2024 Olympics qualifiers that will be played in Changzhou, China and Valencia in Spain early next year.
Today’s results saw Malaysia ending up in 14th place after its haul of six gold, eight silver and 18 bronze medals, or a total of 32 medals, surpassing their target of 27 medals.
Hosts China, meanwhile, have set a new benchmark after running away with 200 gold medals, or 42 per cent of the gold medals offered, in addition to the 111 silver and 71 bronze won.
In the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang edition, Malaysia completed the games in 14th position with a 7-13-16 medal tally, while their best achievement was in the 2010 edition in Guangzhou, China when they finished with 9-18-14 or a total of 41 medals to be placed 10th.
Malaysia have the opportunity to add one more medal tomorrow through karate exponent C. Shahmalarani, who will be in action in the below 50kg women’s Kumite event, before the Games come to a close. - BERNAMA
