KUALA LUMPUR – It was history in the making for the country’s jiu-jitsu team yesterday after they won Malaysia’s first medal at the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championships held in Bangkok, Thailand.
National jiu-jitsu exponent Cassandra J. Poyong clinched a bronze medal in the women’s under-57kg category after defeating Thuong Le of Vietnam by armbar submission.
It was also Malaysia’s first participation in the annual event.
Speaking to The Vibes, Malaysia Jiu-Jitsu Federation president Lim Fang Han said he was very proud that their hard work has finally paid off.
“I felt very proud that all our hard work has finally paid off. This competition had participants from over 30 countries.
“Also, since we had the 2019 national team coach Bruno Barbosa join us this year, it has been instrumental to our success.
“I hope this will inspire our community to continue supporting our athletes so that we can send them to more competitions,” he said.
The Philippines’ Annie Ramirez came out on top to clinch the gold medal, while Kazakhstan’s Galina Duvanova took silver.
Lim shared that, apart from Cassandra’s historic bronze medal, Damon Soo also did well in the championships. He managed a top-three position in Asean and top eight in Asia for the men’s under-69kg category.
With finances one of the major factors limiting previous international participation, Fang said this year was made possible due to the outstanding support they received through a fundraising event – a stand-up comedy live show headlined by Jason Leong, accompanied by other stand-up comedians including Kavin Jay, Rizal Van Geyzel, Mad Sabah, and Prakash Daniel – which contributed to a significant portion of their total budget.
“Proceeds from the fundraiser managed to cover us for at least more than half a year in expenses.
“I hope more people will get to know our beautiful art of jiu-jitsu and I believe that we have got what it takes to compete with the rest of the world too,” Lim added. – The Vibes, March 1, 2023
