KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian silambam team clinched 12 gold medals to emerge as overall champions at the Asian Open Silambam Championship in Qatar on Saturday (Dec 27).
Malaysia Silambam Association president Dr M. Suraess said that six national exponents put up splendid performances to secure two gold each in the "thanithiramai" (individual artistic staff spinning) and "poruthal" (combat) categories at the Doha Sports Complex.
The gold medallists include Prakash in the men’s open above 60kg category; Shastivena in the girls’ below 17 years (55kg-65kg) category; as well as Leenasree (30kg-40kg), Kavithira (45-55kg), Darnisha (55kg-65kg), and Ranishaa (above 70kg) - all in the girls’ under 15 category.
Dr Suraess revealed that hosts Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came in second and third, respectively, in the tournament, which also saw participation from representatives from India and Saudi Arabia.
"We made history by winning the overall title. Six of our athletes who got medals at the Sarawak Sukma (Malaysia Games) in August participated.
"The closing ceremony was coincidentally graced by the Malaysian ambassador to Qatar, Mohammad Faizal Razali, who was proud to hand over the overall champions trophy,” he said.
He made these remarks in a statement on Saturday (Dec 28). – Bernama
