Sarawak Premier Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg (centre) during the launching of the Sarawak Premier International Silat Championship (SPISC) at the Kuching Indoor Stadium on Feb 27, 2023. – Bernama photo
KUCHING (March 1): Three silat exponents from Sarawak produced outstanding performances to overcome their respective opponents on the second day of the Sarawak Premier International Silat Championship (SPISC) at the Kuching Indoor Stadium, Sarawak.
Josh Chua, Shahamierul Shelby Mohamad Maiden and Suhaiqal Suhardie who featured in the quarterfinals, overcame opponents in their respective categories.
Josh Chua who competed in the Putra C Junior category used various approaches to defeat Pahang’s Mohamad Mirza Danish Abdullah 72-18 while Shahameirul Shelby who saw action in the Tunggal Putra category was declared winner despite scoring the same points (9.9 points) against Mohd Hearri Chieng Mohd Firdaus Cheng who represented the Armed Forces (ATM).
In the Tunggal Baku Putra category, Suhaiqal Suhardie scored 9.885 points to defeat Dapa Riki Ananda from Indonesia who managed 9.850 points.
Apart from opponents from Sarawak, a silat exponent from the United States, Omar Daken was the centre of attention in the two categories that he competed – Tunggal Putra Baku and Putra C Junior.
However, Daken lost both his contest – Tunggal Putra Baku to Singapore’s Raif Muhd Syariz Muhd Rizal and Putra C Junior to Indonesia’s Dapa Riki Ananda.
The championships, hosted for the first time by Sarawak, attracted more than 500 silat exponents from the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and the Philippines. – Bernama