Voon displays her bronze medal at the Hongkong International Judo Championships in this file photo.
SIBU (June 1): Rising star Voon Xue Jia and six other state judokas will see action in the Taipei Asian Championships to be held in Taiwan from July 1 to 7.
Sarawak Judo Association (SJA) is eyeing some credible performances from the experienced Voon, Soh Yew Ing, 27, Tan Kok Hong, 23, Brenton Sim Yi Quan, 20, and Voon Xue Zhi, 21.
The outing will also serve as good exposure for Geraldine Chung Sze Le and Tan Xin Hung, the two youngest at 19, who are eyeing the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma).
The last time Sarawak sent a judo squad overseas was to the Philippines Open in 2019. Team manager Ngiam Sze Yuang said this first international trip since will also allow the state judokas to pick up international ranking points. He added that the seven have been training hard on their skills, strength and fitness, and are raring for action.
The first overseas tournament for the state exponents this year was the South East Asia Judo Championships held in Penang in January. The team secured two bronze medals through Xue Jia and Xin Hung.
More recently, 23-year-old Xue Jia continued to be a revelation at the Hongkong International Judo Championships when she finished with another bronze medal.
SJA is also preparing their exponents for the National Junior Championships in August and the Sarawak Games (Suksar) later this year.