1Silat - Unity in Diversity

Friday 18 December 2009

Fauzi lands surprise gold in silat - and Malaysia’s 30th


POLICEMAN Mohd Fauzi Khalid rose to the occasion to win a surprise gold medal in silat and it fittingly turned out to be the 30th one for Malaysia in the 25th SEA Games.

His performance sparked a four-gold sweep by Malaysia as Faizal Abdullah, Mohd Hafiz Mahari and Emy Latip all won their final bouts.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, National Sports Council director general Datuk Zolkples Embong and chef-de-mission Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz were present to witness the competition, eagerly anticipating the minimum 30-gold target to be achieved in the morning.

But the bet was not on Fauzi but Faizal, who also fought in the morning’s final bouts.

Fauzi, however, stole the show by stopping the hot streak of the Vietnam team with a 5-0 win over Truong Van Mao in the men’s below 75kg silat seni final.


Super cop: Malaysia’s Mohd Fauzi Khalid celebrating after winning the gold in the men’s below 75kg silat seni yesterday.
Fauzi lost to the same fighter in the semi-finals at the Asian Martial Arts Games in Bangkok in July and his win silenced the Vietnamese supporters, who had been noisily celebrating their exponents’ victories in the first three finals.

“I saw all the top officials here but I did not know that I secured the 30th gold to help the contingent meet the target,” said the 22-year-old Fauzi.

“My total concentration was on getting the better of the Vietnamese as I lost to him in Bangkok.

”I managed to land a kick to score points in the first round and I was confident that I would get the gold.

“I did not get a medal in my first SEA Games in Korat (2007) and getting a gold here feels so good.”

Faizal did not disappoint in the men’s below 85kg final, beating Thailand’s Chanon Untakool 5-0.

Malaysia only managed to win one silver and six bronze medals in Korat.

“The current team are more focused and we were better prepared this time,” said the Faizal, a father of two, who took bronze at the previous Games.

The third gold and the 35th for the country came from Hafiz, who overcame Laotian Okhe Botsavang in the men’s below 50kg final.

Emy bagged the final gold of the day in the women’s below 60kg competition, beating Thailand’s Jutarat Noytapa.

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