BINTULU: Azhad Haziq Syafaat A. Khalid secures a spot in the final, dedicating his semi-final muay thaivictory at the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) 2024 to his mother.
After his fight, Azhad made his way to the stands where his parents were, embracing them with the sight of his mother, Saripah Siti Zuliani Wan Abdul Rahman being overwhelmed with tears of joy.
Azhad qualified for the final of the competition after his win over Azharul Haqimie Norazman from Johor, clinching a 16-10 victory with a commanding performance.
He was vicious and went all out on the attack in the first round, leading 6-0 against his opponent.
The loud backing of the Sarawak crowd, who chanted “Sarawak Sarawak” with fervour, spurred him on, adding another four points in the second round.
He continued his offense against Johor’s Azharul in the third round, adding another six points to Johor’s five points with his opponent unable to provide an equalizer.
Azhad qualified into the final of the 71kg male category.He joins other Sarawakian fighters into the final – Texas Jeremy Lo, Muhammad Mikail Ghazali Zulfikar, Cherilynn Christalle Chan Qi Qi and Maurien Hii Sie Lin.
However, at the same time as Azhad’s fight, another fight was going on where Sarawak’s Mohamad Izzat Zulfaqar Hazrid was defeated by Terengganu’s Ahmad Nor Iman Aliff Rakib.
Ahmad Nor Iman Aliff Rakib won the fight 24-5.