Wow, This Malaysian Karate Expert Is Now World No.1!
Another win for Malaysian sports!
By John Lim — 07 Oct 2016, 09:51 AM
25-year-old karate expert Syakilla Salni Jefry Krisna just made history by becoming the first Malaysian to hold the number 1 ranking in the World Karate Federation (WKF) Karate 1 Premier League Series!
She holds the top spot for the women’s kumite below 55kg category.
Kumite is one of three major components in the sport of Karate. It involves the grappling of hands. The other sections of the sport are kata and kihon.
In the ranking list released by Karate 1 Premier League Series on 5 October, Syakilla finished the year with 2,115 points
Her four successive podium finishes from the seven legs helped in her climb to the top.
In April, she beat reigning world champion Sara Cardin of Italy to win gold in Dubai, before taking a silver in Salzburg, Austria. She proceeded to clinch a bronze in Istanbul, Turkey, earlier this month.
Recently, Syakilla came close to winning her second Premier League Series title for the year, but was beaten 3-0 by Frenchwoman Emilie Thouy in Germany.
Fellow national karate athlete, Shree Sharmini Segaran, also finished the season with style - coming in at 880 points and ranked eighth
Prior to that, Shree won bronze medal for the below 68 category in the 2014 Asian Games for the below 68 category in Salzburg as well as in Istanbul.
Syakilla is on a mission to add another gold to her tally in the World Karate Championships that's happening from 25 to 30 October
The competition will be held in Linz, Austria.
Malaysia Karate Federation (Makaf) is confident that both athletes will excel well in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where karate will make its debut
“Looking at her (Syakilla) performances in recent tournaments, she will be one of the favourites at the world meet. We’ve never had a world champion, so we hope Syakilla can pull it off this time,” said Makat secretary Vincent Chen.
malaysiandigest.com
Well done to both athletes! We're very proud of you and all the best for the World Championships!
