by Theleaders-Online | March 3, 2020 2:39 am
KUALA LUMPUR: Ahead of participation in several international competitions, the national karate squad has been dealt a huge blow following injury suffered by two of its senior exponents.
National karate head coach, Ali Reza Souleymani, said the 2019 SEA Games silver medallist, Muhammad Arif Abdul Malik, and Asian Karate Federation (AKF) Under-21 Championships gold medallist, A Somanroy, sustained a knee and shoulder injury respectively, which has taken them out of competition for about seven months.
“At the moment, I can’t assemble a full squad as only three senior athletes and the junior squad are available for training. The rest, mostly the senior athletes, are down with injury.
“Therefore, I must find suitable junior athletes … to represent the country in upcoming tournaments,” he told Bernama recently.
While there are several competitions lined up, Reza revealed the number has not been confirmed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Among the competitions that the national squad is supposed to be heading to are the South East Asia Karate Federation Championship in the Philippines from April 3 – 5 and 17th AKF Senior Championship in Bali, Indonesia from Sept 4 – 6.
“My plan was to bring the national squad for international training and competitions in Iran in the next couple of months, but due to mounting concerns over COVID-19, I can’t give an assurance we will proceed with our initial plans either,” said the Iranian-born coach.
Last year was a great year for the national karate squad after it emerged as overall champion at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines, raking in four gold and four silver medals while also achieving positive results at a few international competitions.
Bernama
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