Jiu-Jitsu warriors show they’re ready for battle to end wait for gold at SEA Games

All for the flag: The Malaysian Jiu-Jitsu team celebrating their success at the South-East Asia Championships in the Philippines.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Jiu-Jitsu exponents are hopeful of ending the gold medal wait at the Thailand SEA Games in December after a historic campaign at the South-East Asia (SEA) Championships in Philippines over the weekend.

The national team came home with an eight-medal haul from the Newaza (ground) event from Manila.

Seasoned campaigners Adam Akasyah and Cassandra Poyong struck gold in the men’s below 77kg and women’s below 57kg respectively while 15-year-old Akil Mikail Farrisadikin delivered gold in the Under-16 boys’ below 56kg.

It was the first time Malaysian exponents stood on top of the podium in the sport at the regional level.

Malaysia’s two silver medals came through Joelle Wong Ai (women’s below 57kg) and Damon Soo Yan Wei (men’s below 69kg) while Cheah Wen Khyn (men’s below 77kg), Jic Chia Ho Yee (men’s below 69kg) and Alexander Paramanathan (men’s Under-21 below 62kg) contributed bronze.

The performances augur well for Malaysia’s chances to end the six-year wait for a gold medallist in the popular martial arts sport.

At the Thailand SEA Games, Jiu-Jitsu will offer a total of 18 gold medals across three disciplines - Newaza, Fighting and Duo Classic.

His A game: Adam Akasyah posing with his gold medal in the men’s below 77kg event.

Jiu-Jitsu made its SEA Games debut in the Philippines in 2019 with Malaysia taking silver and two bronze medals. The silver came from Cassandra in the women’s below 55kg with Lee Ai Jin (women’s below 45kg) and Adam (men’s below 69kg) claiming the bronze medals.

At the 2021 Vietnam Games, Adam secured a silver in the men’s below 69kg while Bless Khoon Yin Yeap earned bronze in the women’s below 48kg.

At the last SEA Games in Cambodia two years ago, Adam again settled for bronze in the same category.

Malaysia Jiu-Jitsu Federation (MJJF) president Lim Fang Han said the national team will still be underdogs in Thailand despite their promising outing.

“It was a strong outing by the team. Our athletes showed what they can do but the SEA Games will be tougher and we prefer to see ourselves as the underdogs,” said Fang Han, who is also the team’s assistant coach.

“We managed to observe our prospective opponents for the SEA Games but their strength was only 75 per cent.

“The hosts (Thailand) are offering 18 events, which shows they are confident for the SEA Games and have the gold medal prospects. The SEA Games will be tougher too with top athletes from the Philippines, Singapore and Cambodia in the fray,” said Fang Han, who added that they are optimistic about their chances though with several changes in the fray.

“Adam will be moving up to the below 77kg after competing in 69kg since 2019. He looks much more comfortable in the new category. We will also have our female athletes competing, with Cassandra back in after the women’s event was previously omitted in Cambodia.

“We have five and a half months before the SEA Games and we will continue to prepare. We didn’t really have an off-season break and we are confident of being in the best condition come December.”