SEA Games medallist inspires brothers to carry on bodybuilding legacy in Sarawak
Azri in action during the Men’s 55kg stage routine at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi. – Bernama photo
THE first time I saw Azri Asmat Sefri was in 2013, right after he was selected as one of Sarawak’s junior bodybuilders set to compete in the selective Malaysia Games (SUKMA) that year.
It was around end of June, when he and a couple of fellow Mirians came down to Kuching to join the state team before departing for Kuala Lumpur.
It was a fleeting sight at the airport, though.
Azri, who was 20 then, was the only one amongst the young lot whom I did not get the chance to interview.
When we chatted about that moment, the bodybuilder smiled and said: “Yes, I remember seeing you, but everything was in a rush. Plus, I was very nervous at the time.”
Today, Azri is still that all-smiling lad whom I glimpsed upon at the airport back in 2013, but now he has an air of confidence and maturity gained from years of competing and interacting with athletes from diverse backgrounds.
“Thank you for including me in the news over the years. I truly appreciate it,” he said during a recent WhatsApp group chat together with his brothers Asman, Asrul and Asdillah.
‘From scrawny to brawny’
(From right) Asdillah, Asman and Asrul posing during the ‘Champion of Champions’ showdown of Mr Miri 2022.
Azri’s national debut in SUKMA 2013 led to more achievements, and we finally got to meet in 2014 when his home city hosted Mr Sarawak.
Since then, I have been observing his involvement in bodybuilding and I must say, it has been an impressive journey for him.
Hailing from Kampung Pengkalan 1 in Lutong, Azri ‘indirectly’ entered the sport during his secondary school days.
“It was not bodybuilding straight away – I just wanted to look fit. You see, I was a scrawny kid back then,” laughed the 29-year-old.
“But after a while training in the gym, I had developed some muscles. The interest to compete began to emerge when I saw some friends enter the junior category of Mr Miri.
“My family and gym buddies were very supportive as well, so I entered Mr Miri 2012.
“It’s too bad that I don’t remember my placing then, but it did lead to me being selected for SUKMA the following year.”
Following that, Azri became a regular contender in Mr Miri and also in Mr Sarawak, winning the Flyweight (Up to 60kg) title several times in both championships.
He had also qualified for Mr Malaysia every year – except in 2017 and 2018, where he took time off to prepare for his marriage to long-time sweetheart Norhaziah Rambli.
Azri returned to Mr Sarawak stage in 2019 and booked a spot in the Mr Malaysia finals in Kota Kinabalu that year, where he placed second in his favourite category.
It was this time when the selection committee of the Malaysian Bodybuilding Federation (MBBF) really noticed and was impressed by his improvement.
The federation had initially planned to field Azri in the 2020 Asian championships but due to the pandemic, this had to be put on the backburner.
Still, he remained under their radar, so with the arrival of the good news about Vietnam’s confirmation of hosting the 31st SEA Games and also the inclusion of bodybuilding as one of the events, the committee did not need to look any further.
SEA Games debut
(Counter-clockwise, from top left) Video-call screengrab shows Asrul, Asdillah and Asman celebrating Azri’s silver-medal feat at the SEA Games. Peeking behind Azri is Dr Malvern.
Azri said he was speechless upon being informed about his selection for the SEA Games.
“I was overwhelmed, in a good way.
“At that time, the good news kept coming, one after another. I had just celebrated my brothers’ victory in Mr Miri 2022, where all three of them won their respective titles.
“After that, the SEA Games news came in, and even more exciting was that I got to go to Hanoi together with my idols, Buda Anchah and Dr Malvern Abdullah.”
Azri’s SEA Games debut also brought good news for Malaysia later on when he collected the first medal for the national team on opening day of the bodybuilding event at the Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Centre, on May 13.
The Mirian bagged the silver medal from the Men’s 55kg category, placing behind Mach Pham Van of Vietnam, but ahead of Kyaw Min Than of Myanmar.
Naturally, I reported Azri’s achievement in the news, but to my delight, I observed that many other media channels – including a global newswire – highlighted him as well.
“It was surreal and I didn’t know how to deal with the attention.
“I could barely contain my emotions.
“Still, I did my best to communicate with the media; happy that I didn’t mess it up,” he reminisced.
That night, his brothers immediately set up a video call, sharing with him the good wishes and congratulations from the bodybuilding fraternity in Miri.
Joining the chat, I could see the closeness, and also the unconditional love and support between them.
Azri joining his brothers in a photo-call on Mr Miri 2022 stage. (Standing, from left) Asrul, Asman and Asdillah won their respective Lightweight, Bantamweight and Flyweight categories at the divisional championships, which took place at Boulevard Miri on March 13 this year.
The ‘A’ factor
From our recent WhatsApp group chat, I could roughly tell the personality of each brother based on the flow of the conversation.
Having known him longer than the rest, I tag Azri as ‘the serious one’ to a point that one can easily mistake this second-born son of Asmat Sefri as the eldest among the four.
On the other hand, ‘Brother No 1’ Asman and the ‘baby’ among the lot, Asdillah, appear to be the playful ones. They kept teasing each other and the other two throughout the chat.
The third sibling is Asman, whom I describe as ‘the quiet one’.
When asked about all having the initial ‘A’ for their names, Azri said originally, their father wanted each to begin with the letters ‘A’ and ‘S’.
“Just like his name (AS-mat Sefri), but according to him, there was some confusion when registering my name, resulting in only me having the starting letters of ‘A’ and ‘Z’.
“Notwithstanding, we’re still the A-team,” he laughed.
‘To inspire, and be inspired’
Azri displaying the Jalur Gemilang with pride during a photo-call taken at Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Centre. – Bernama photo
Asman, who was the next to enter bodybuilding right after Azri, expressed no surprise in seeing the latter’s commendable achievements in the sport.
“He’s already into it back when we’re still in SMK Lutong. At that time, I was into football.
“He has worked hard in this game and I truly believe that he deserves all the recognition that he has received.
“He inspires not just us, his brothers, but also the bodybuilding community in Miri,” said Asman, 31.
He and Asrul, 24, first shared a stage with Azri during Mr 360 competition in Miri back in 2016. Since then, the two have become active in local contests, but so far, only Asrul has gained the experience of competing in Mr Malaysia.
“I made it to Top 5 of the Men’s Junior Under-70kg category that year (2019), while Azri placed third in Men’s Light Flyweight.
“It was a great time for me, as I made many new friends and learned a lot from the senior bodybuilders,” said Asrul.
Asman then chipped in, expressing how proud they all were in seeing how far Azri had come since his school gym-training days.
“Me, Azrul and Asdillah have qualified for Mr Sarawak this year, and are very happy that Miri is hosting the finals. We did wish, however, that Azri could also be on stage with us, but we understood that he had to skip it as he was preparing for the SEA Games.
“We hope that Mr Sarawak 2022 would be that platform for us to go further, like he has.”
For ‘baby brother’ Asdillah, he would grab any opportunity to compete as a way for him to gain more experience, especially in mastering the posing routine.
“I’m very new to this, but I’m fortunate to have my brothers to guide me along,” said the 22-year-old graduate of Miri Industrial Training Institute.
For Azri, he was just too happy to have his brothers be included in the bodybuilding fraternity.
Azri, flanked by Asman (right) and Asrul, in a photo-call taken before the kick-off of a bodybuilding event in Miri.
“It’s a sport that I love, and I’m glad that they love it too.
“Perhaps it’s a bit too much to say that I have inspired them, because I believe that they’re passionate about it too. Maybe after seeing what I have accomplished so far, it pushes them to go further, which I know they can.
“As much as I have been privileged to go to competitions with my bodybuilding idols, I want them to go through all the process, including the setbacks – only then, would they appreciate this sport more,” said Azri.