BINTULU: Despite a knee injury Nur Iklil Zarifah Mohamad Affandi demonstrated impressive resilience in the female wai kru final ultimately falling short against Yan Jia Chi from Sabah in the muay thai competition.
Nur Iklil revealed that she injured both knees during training but chose to persevere and never gave up.
She finished just 0.40 points behind, with a final score of 9.30. Her opponent Yan, however, delivered a near-perfect performance with a score of 9.70.
Yan was crowned world champion at the women’s Wai Kru in 2023 at the World Combat Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Nevertheless, the 18-year old Nur Iklil from Kampung Ajibah Abol still displayed remarkable elegance and grace in her wai kru performance.
“Although I didn’t win the gold medal, I am still grateful. My hard work in training has paid off, and I have given my all both here and during my preparations, I gave my absolute best,” she told Sarawak Tribune on Monday (Aug 19).
Sarawak secured another silver medal in the female mai muay final.
Ain Arisya Zulkeplie and Nur Arifah Mahsunah Baharom narrowly lost to Sabah’s Jezzevelle Myora and Myra Arina Roslan.
Ain and Nur Arifah scored 9.27 points, just 0.03 points behind, while the Sabahan pair earned 9.30 points.