PG KHAIRUL Bahri Pg Ali Omar was denied a place in the final of the pencak silat category F (70 to 75kg) competition at the ongoing 1st Asian Martial Arts Games in Thailand after narrowly losing to Singapore's Elyasak Mohamad 3-2 yesterday.

In an email sent by the Bruneian contingent's chef de mission, Pg Khairul Bahri dominated the first round and managed to score more points than his opponent because of his numerous attacks at the Chaofah Mahachakree Sirinthorn Bld. Sports School in Suphanburi province.

"However in the second round, Elyasak produced two falls which enabled him to overtake Pg Khairul Bahri in term of points," said Mariam Ulat.

"In the third round both athletes obtained the same number of points, thus Pg Khairul Bahrin lost the game," she added.

Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam were each represented by one athlete in the event.

According to Mariam, five judges in each match decide the winner by awarding points for each round.

In the category D (60 to 65kg) competition on Tuesday, Khuzaiman Ahmad lost in the semi-final to Thailand's Chaiwat Nimma by a score of 5-0.

Apart from Brunei and Thailand, one exponent each from Malaysia and Uzbekistan competed in the category.

Brunei's hopes for a medal from one of its three pencak silat exponents now lie on the shoulders of Amirul Ahat who will be competing in the final of the category A (45 to 50kg) event tomorrow (Friday).

He will face either Thailand or Laos in the championship match.

Enjoying a break today, the pencak silat competition started on Monday but the Sultanate's representatives only started their events on Tuesday.

The Sultanate's karate exponents are set to begin their tournament today, with Hj Eddie Jofriani Hj Johari taking to the floor in the 55kg and below category against a Vietnamese competitor at 10am.

Nine athletes are taking part in the category.

In the 60kg and below category, Muhamad Fida'iy Hj Sanif will face an opponent from either Bangladesh or South Korea at 1:30pm, with 19 athletes taking part in the weight class.

Meanwhile, his brother Mohamad Fadillah will face an opponent from Bangladesh tomorrow (Friday) in the 67kg and below category at 10am.

Twenty-four athletes are taking part in the category.

The three-day karate competition reaches its climax on Saturday and all events will be contested at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.

Brunei is only represented by three athletes each in the pencak silat and karate competition at the inaugural edition of the Games.

South Korea were leading the standings with nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals as of 5:30pm yesterday.

Kazakhstan were in second place with five gold, four silver and three bonze medals followed by Japan with five gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Hosts Thailand lie in fourth with four gold, five silver and nine bronze medals.

Courtesy from Brunei Times