Asiad bronze just the start for young kata trio, says coach

NAGOYA: National karate coach Emmanuel Leong believes the newly formed men's kata team has immense potential after winning a bronze medal on their Asian Games debut.

The trio of Aiqal Asmadie, 22, Haznil Henry, 21, and Mukhriz Mazlan, 18, clinched bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games yesterday.

It was Malaysia's first men's kata medal at the Asiad in 12 years.

Malaysia lost 5-0 to eventual winners Kuwait in the semi-finals before bouncing back to edge Vietnam 3-2 in the bronze medal playoff.

Emmanuel said he was proud to see his exponents achieve the target set for them.

"Our aim was to finish on the podium here and I am grateful we were able to achieve it," he said.

"It was tough for us to face Kuwait, who were also medallists in Hangzhou, in the semi-finals. We were definitely the underdogs.

"But the boys really showed their desire to win against Vietnam and executed what they practiced in training very well despite the pressure." Emmanuel said their performances at the Toyohashi Gymnasium bodes well for their future.

"They are still very young, Mukhriz is only 18, so they have got time, this is still early days for them. I believe they have a lot of potential," he said.

"While on the other hand, the Kuwait team are already in their 30s, in fact they used to be my rivals when I was still competing.

"Beating Vietnam is also a positive sign for us because they will also be our rivals at the Malaysia SEA Games next year."

This is the first time that Aiqal, Haznil, and Mukhriz have joined forces in a major multi-sport competition.

Aiqal and Haznil, together with Luqman Syah and Arif Hafizi, won the men's team silver at the Thailand SEA Games last year.