KUALA LUMPUR – After two silver medals, karate finally delivered gold for Malaysia at the Asian Games through Muhammad Arif Afifuddin Ab Malik in the men’s kumite below 84kg.
Arif defeated Daniyar Yuldashev from Kazakhstan 10-4 at the LSC Gymnasium KTE Tatami in Hangzhou.
Yuldashev could not contend with Arif’s lightning-quick reactions, scoring Yuko after Yuko (point after point) with little reply from the Kazakh.
There was a little bit of a scare for the Malaysian as, with only 30 seconds on the clock, Yuldashev unintentionally poked Arif’s eye.
The 23-year-old needed an injury timeout to receive treatment, after which he returned to action and scored two more points to seal the victory.
Earlier, the women’s team, comprising Lovelly Anne Robberth, Naccy Nelly Evvaferra Rojin and Nathalia Sherawinnie Yampil, delivered a silver medal in the team kata event.
Lovelly then added another silver in the Individual kata.
Arif’s win delivered Malaysia’s sixth gold medal and 32nd overall at Hangzhou 2022. – October 7, 2023