Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THE national karatedo team has worked to their best to prepare for the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam.
Brunei will be sending five athletes to compete in the sport at the May 12 – 23 event.
Muhammad Sufizan Mohd Sofian, who bagged a bronze medal in the last edition, will contest in the men’s individual kumite -67kg while Ak Muhd Abdul Quddus Pg Hj Zainal in the men’s individual kumite -60kg.
Rodhyatul Adhwanna Bakar will take part in the women’s individual kata event.
She will team up with Farhah Syahirah Mohd Shamrin and Farhana Najeeh Abdul Rahman in the team kata event.
National karatedo coach Okhida Simangasing highlighted that the team had done the best they could to be ready for the Games.
“We have worked to our best to prepare and be at our maximum for the last SEA Games since the last one,” said Okhida in an interview with BruSports News on Thursday.
“There was nothing we could do about the COVID situation so we made sure we had solutions and trained online.
“Our programmes were communicated to our athletes to ensure we continued working. We can only give our best for Brunei and we will need the prayers and support from the people,” added the 49-year-old.
It has been over two years without any competitions for the national karatedo team.
When asked about sparring for his kumite athletes, Okhida replied: “There was no choice since we couldn’t leave the country so we had to work with whatever we had.
“We would normally let our athletes go up against more than one athlete for at once and work out different combinations,” concluded Brunei’s current longest serving foreign coach at almost 20 years.
