Painful encounter: Mohd Al Jufferi Jamari listening to his coach Mazlan Shaari after sustaining an injury in his quarter-final bout against Indonesia’s Iqbal Candra Pratama at the SEA Games in Hanoi. — Bernama
SUNGKAI: The bitter experience of missing out on gold at the recent SEA Games has not dampened national silat champion Mohd Al Jufferi Jamari’s spirit but instead has fired him up to go for glory at the World Championship.
The world meet in July will be his final tournament before he bids farewell to the sport.
To beef up his preparation, the four-time SEA Games champion will camp for two months in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, for the world meet at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh.
He said Nilai was his location of choice as a training camp because he wanted to isolate himself from city distractions to concentrate on a final fling.
“I chose Nilai because the environment is the same as in the village where we are now. It gives more focus to my mission,” said Jufferi.
“If I stay in the city, I may want to hang out and take the family on outings after training,” he said after attending the Save the Malayan Tiger campaign at the National Wildlife Rescue Centre.
The 30-year-old former world champion said he would drop back from Class F (70-75 kg) to Class E (65-70 kg) for the world tourney.
Jufferi admitted that he failed to win gold at the SEA Games because he was affected by the switch to Class F, which saw him training for seven months before Hanoi.
The bronze medallist said he was determined to retire even if he wins in the world tournament. — Bernama
