Shahmalarani bags gold Larnaca K1 Series

KUALA LUMPUR: National exponent, C. Shahmalarani, is back on the podium, having bagged a gold medal at the World Karate Federation (WKF) Karate 1 Series A, in Larnaca, Cyprus, yesterday.

The 25-year-old claimed the women's -50kg title, after beating Spaniard Eva Rodriguez 9-5 in the finals, held at the Kition Athletic Center.

Earlier, Shahmalarani, the two-time SEA Games champion, ousted Barbara Michelle Morales of Guatemala 3-2 to advance to the finals, while Eva edged Hsin-Yu Chan of Taiwan 1-0.

Reacting to the victory on Instagram, Shahmalarani said that it served as a redemption, after missing the podium at the Hangzhou Asian Games with a second-round exit, in October last year.

"adding one more to the collection of World Series medals. Lost our Asian (Games) meet title, feeling disheartened as we know the amount of effort and sacrifices made in the process of preparing for each championship.

"The anticipation for this moment was immense, and it's a testament to the perseverance of a nine-month wait, after the podium finish at Sea Games 2023 (in Cambodia, in May last year)," she posted.

Meanwhile, Asian Games men's -84kg champion, Muhammad Arif Afifuddin Ab Malik, finished joint fifth with Arslan Hasan (Turkiye), after going down 1-5 against Nikola Malovic of Montenegro in the repechage round.

-- BERNAMA