(L-R) Brunei's Rafidah Hj Rosli,
Dzulhusmie Hj Kahan,Muhamad
Shamsul Makmun and
Muhammad Ali-Rashid Mohd
Alipah during yesterday's
mixed dantai embu (artistic)
group yudansha event at the
Ciracas Sports Hall in Jakarta.
Picture: BT/ Jason Thomas

Fab 4, Part II: National kempo team finish 2nd

With two silver medals to their name, the national shorinji kempo team are currently the most successful of the 11 sports that the country has sent to the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Carving their names into the history books with yesterday's second place finish in the mixed dantai embu (artistic) group yudansha, the four-member team were already on a high after Muhammad Ali-Rashid Alipah and Muhamad Shamsul Makmun won silver in Friday's kumi embu (artistic) pair yudansha making the duo the best achievers at the Games so far.

Making the feat all the more sweeter is the fact that the sport was only introduced in Brunei this year, and the 26th edition of the Games marks the first time the sport has been contested at a multi-sport event.

Despite the team's success at the Ciracas Sports Hall the venue has proved to be a bittersweet one for Brunei since Timor Leste's Julianto Pereira and Dorceyana Borges won gold in the mixed kumi embu (artistic) pair at the same arena a result which leaves Brunei at the bottom of the11-nation medals table, and the only country yet to hear its national anthem during the medal ceremony.

Brunei has won three silver and seven bronze medals here in Jakarta, but that tally and the kempo team's distinction as the side to beat may be surpassed today if Brunei's final contestants at the Games, wushu's Faustina Woo Wai Sii and Lee YingShi, pick up gold in duilian (duo sparring with broadsword and spear), an event which they reaped silver at the 2009 SEA Games in Laos.

Muhammad Ali-Rashid and Muhamad Shamsul teamed up with the remaining two members of the squad, Rafidah Hj Rosli and Dzulhusmie Hj Kahan, to claim second yesterday with a total of 260.5 points. Indonesia surprised noone by winning gold on 271.50, with Vietnam clinching bronze on 259.0.

Unlike in the previous four days of action, the boisterous crowd which was at an all-time high yesterday, probably because it was a Sunday didn't affect the team's performance.

"Of course I was nervous before I went into the ring because there were a lot more people today (Sunday)," said Muhammad Ali-Rashid. "But once I stepped into the ring all those thoughts were forgotten and we played our best," added the 27-year-old national exponent.

"I'm really proud of this achievement," beamed Muhamad Shamsul, the oldest member of the team at 32.

"The points were really close ... We did our best," he added.

For 21-year-old Rafidah, the medal helped make up for the disappointment of finishing fifth in the pool of seven teams in the mixed kumi embu (artistic) pair yudansha on Saturday, where she teamed up with Muhamad Shamsul.

She also failed to progress past the pool stage of the women's randori (sparring) below 45kg on Friday after a 5-0 loss to Cambodia's Mimi Yoisaykham, so the silver was a welcome boost.

"Though my target was for two silver medals (in yesterday's event and the mixed kumi embu (artistic) pair) I'm still grateful with this result," said the youngest member of the squad.

Dzulhusmie, who was also knocked out at the pool stage in the men's randori (sparring) below 50kg class on Thursday after suffering two losses, was already looking to the future.

"I'm satisfied with this result, but I feel we need more exposure," said the 28-year-old Bruneian.

"I've already talked to the manager (Major Mohd Talib Hj Mohd Tahir) and he agreed," he said, adding that he lost his second pool stage match 5-0 to Cambodia's Phat Saren because of his opponent's counter-attacks.

A large reason the quartet ended on the podium yesterday was because they completed the first round of the event on Thursday in prime position to finish with a medal, with their score of 258 putting them second to Indonesia who collected 270. Vietnam were previously third on 257 meaning the same order would repeat itself in podium.

The scores from the first and second round were totalled and divided by two to decide the winners.

Contrary to previous reports, the maximum marks for the event is 300.

Courtesy from Brunei Times