KUCHING: Sarawak Amateur Boxing Association (SABA) president Datuk Rahman Lariwoo is confident of six golds at hand for the coming Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in August this year.
Rahman said his confidence is high and the association believes that Sarawak could be overall champion for boxing.
“In terms of preparation, training and teamwork, we are confident about our fighters’ capability.
“After the Sarawak Open which begins on May 6 and ends May 10, the fighters will be brought to Southern Thailand for training, and then to Pontianak, Indonesia and one last trip before SUKMA to Baguio, the Philippines,” he told reporters at a press conference at Sarawak Media Group in CityOne Megamall on Monday.
Explaining further, Rahman said based on circumstances and analysis, there is a high possibility for Sarawak to achieve six golds in SUKMA.
“For the first time, we have boxing for women.The men have 12 categories, while the women have four, making a total of 16 categories.
“We at the association level are very confident that we are able to achieve the targets set by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development,” he said.
In a related development with the Sarawak Open which is held at the Petra Jaya Multipurpose Stadium, Rahman said 150 boxers are expected to compete in the competition with countries including Sri Lanka and Singapore, plus two teams from Sumatra and West Kalimantan, Indonesia who are expected to fight at the event.
The Sarawak contingent will field in their boxers at the Sarawak Open as a warm-up event for the coming SUKMA.
“SUKMA, we are ready, the Sarawak team are ready to fight and the fighters have been selected and they will also be competing,” Rahman said.
