The 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia is in full swing and just like in previous years, we have a lot of athletes representing Malaysia to bring back those beautiful shiny medals. Recently, our very own C. Shahmalarani delivered Malaysia’s first Gold Medal after winning in the women’s kumite below 50 kilogrammes (kg) karate match.
She was up against 2022 World Games champion, Junna Tsukii Villanueva from the Philippines and it seems that her opponent was not happy with the final results. Here’s what she said:
@iambriancarl #seagames2023 #philippines #cambodia #malaysia #vietnam #singapore #thailand #sports #trend #fyi #fyip
Over the weekend, C. Shahmalarani and Junna Tsukii Villanueva ended in a tie in the final karate match at the SEA Games before the judges split their votes and the point was ultimately awarded to the former. Reporters approached the Japanese-Filipino athlete after her devastating loss.
The 31-year-old expressed her disappointment in the judges’ decision of giving the win to her opponent as she was confident that she would be victorious. “I was more active than her, but they chose her. I don’t know what happened with these judges. I’m not happy with my medal,” she said. The former World Games champion added that the point should be given to the most aggressive fighter.
The professional educator even refused to participate in the award ceremony after her defeat. She clarified that although she was upset with the results, she didn’t want any handout victories saying, “I hope sports is always fair. I’m not saying, ‘Please give me the win.’ If I lose, I’ll accept it”.
@iambriancarl Filipina Athlete Junna Tsukii aired her frustrations after getting a silver medal for the Philippines in the women’s karate -50kg kumite at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia on Saturday. #seagames2023 #cambodia #malaysia #philippines #karate #vietnam #singapore #thailand #laos #myanmar #sports #viral #trending #fyi #indonesia #wewinasone
As for C. Shahmalarani, it is currently unknown if the Malaysian-born athlete is aware of Junna’s controversial statement. The Gold-medalist, however, did say that she was very happy with her victory as she felt it was a redemption after losing to the same opponent in the Southeast Asian Karate Federation Championships (SEAKF) in Cambodia back in March.
“After the 1-1 score, I was very confident of winning the bout as I was controlling the match from then on,” she told reporters. Whatever the case, we’d like to congratulate C. Shahmalarani for making our country proud! Here’s to more victories in the future!
Sources: YouTube, TheSunDaily
