KUALA LUMPUR − National jujitsu exponent Adam Akasyah is confident of landing gold in the Hanoi SEA Games scheduled for May 12-23 based on his experience competing at the international level.
The 22-year-old won the bronze in the men’s Under (U)-69kg category in the last edition but said the thorough preparation this time, including seven weeks of centralised training, has put him in a good position for gold.
“The team’s target is a silver but my personal target is to win the gold. I have entered numerous international competitions and have defeated the other SEA Games participants.
“The team did mobility training and I also have the services of a nutritionist. So, God willing, I will try my best,” he said at a press conference by the SEA Games jujitsu squad at the National Sports Council here today.
Asked about his main challengers, Adam named defending champion Banpot Lertthaisong of Thailand and U-62kg gold medal winner Noah Lim of Singapore, who recently switched to the U-69kg category.
Meanwhile, Cassandra Poyong said she hoped to give a better showing this time after surprising many by winning the silver in the women’s U-62kg category in 2019 when jujitsu was contested for the first time at the SEA Games.
“In 2019, we didn’t expect to win anything but I came back with a silver. So, this time around, we want to be better than in 2019. We want to show the world that Malaysia has a pool of talented jujitsu exponents for the SEA Games,” she said.
After winning a silver and two bronzes at the last games, the national jujitsu squad are targeting two silvers and four bronzes this time.
Team manager Sharizal Md Sidek said aside from the technical aspect, the team have focused on building their mental and tactical strength.
He said the team have made an in-depth analysis and believed that they would improve on their 2019 results.
The team’s other representatives are Thew Chin Hong (U-62kg) and Mohd Fouzein Mohd Fozi (U-56kg) in the men’s category and Bless Yeap (U-48kg) and Ariel Thomas (U-45kg) in the women’s section. – Bernama, April 12, 2022
