The karate and pencak silat team pose for a picture with their medals upon returning to Brunei yesterday. BT/ Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
The national karate team are looking to put the disappointment of the 27th edition of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar behind them as soon as possible.
The eight-man squad failed to better their record of one silver and two bronze medals at the previous SEA Games in Indonesia two years ago after finishing with just one silver and one bronze this year.
"We must study and analyse our mistakes and carry out a post-mortem of the tournament, so that we can continue our training (and hope for improvements) at the next SEA Games," said national team manager Hj Sayed Mohammad Hj Sayed Othman upon their return to Brunei yesterday.
Muhd Fida'iy Sanif delivered silver after losing 8-6 to Ramon Antonino Franco of the Philippines in the men's under 55kg kumite on Saturday.
The bronze medal came courtesy of Mairul Muhammad who beat Myanmar's San Toe in the repechage of the men's under 60kg kumite.
The four-minute match ended deadlocked at 3-3 before Mairul was declared the winner.
"Anyways, I am still proud of my boys. They are still young and they did their best in the tournament," continued the manager.
The national team also failed to win any medals in the men's team kumite event.
They started the event with a 3-1 loss at the hands of Thailand in the quarter-finals at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium A.
Brunei were given a chance at bronze after their opponents made it through to the final but Vietnam proved too strong for the Sultanate as they were swept aside 3-0 in the repechage.
Also arriving yesterday was the national pencak silat team who bagged two bronze medals.
Present to welcome the athletes at the International Airport in Berakas was the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Permanent Secretary Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid Hj Mohd Jaafar.
