The national pencak silat team at
the Brunei International Airport in
Berakas yesterday. The
13-member team will compete in
the Second Southeast Asian Silat
Championship 2010 in Vietnam.
Picture: BT/Amir Amin

The national pencak silat team left the Brunei International Airport in Berakas yesterday to gauge their skills at the 2nd Southeast Asian Silat Championship 2010.

Ten men and three women will represent the Sultanate at the seven-day tournament, which is being held in Vietnam from August 4-10.

"We intend to use the competition as a warm-up for next year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games," said Pg Hj Abd Karim Pg Hj Metassan, team manager and vice-president of Brunei Darussalam National Pencak Silat Association (Persib).

"That's likely the aim for all the other participating countries as well, as we will face each other next year," added the team manager.

The 26th SEA Games will be held in Indonesia.

Staying true to the objective, the national team have made some changes to the line-up. "We changed the weight classes for some of the athletes who will be competing. We're also introducing a number of fresh faces at the tournament, as we aim to increase the number of events to compete in," he added.

One such athlete who will be plying her trade abroad is Farina Afina PDP Hj Abd Jalil.

As one of the initiatives to increase the number of women athletes, Farina Afina had been brought into the national team after showing promise at local tournaments.

"Farina Afina is a new addition to the squad. We brought her in after witnessing her performance at PSK (National Sports Festival) and the Brunei Darussalam National Pencak Silat Championships," said Pg Hj Abd Karim. Representing Brunei-Muara, she grabbed gold in the women's E (65-70 kilogramme) tanding event at the national pencak silat championships in July.

Another winner in the national pencak silat championships who will join her is Nurul Aimi Amalina Zainidi, who claimed gold in the women's adult cekak asli event. The two women will be joined by Siti Zuliza Omar. The 2009 SEA Games gold-medallist Hj Md Khairul Bahrin Hj Duraman will also be showing his skills in Vietnam.

The silat exponent captured Brunei's lone gold medal in the men's pencak silat tunggal event, defeating second place Sarawut Comepoon of Thailand and Youthisinh of Laos (bronze).

Other athletes competing at the Championship are: Amirul Ahat, Amali Hj Malik, Izat Zaini, Khuzaiman Ahmad, Md Amin Ali, Abdul Rahman Hj Asli, Jufri Junaidi, Abdul Malik Hj Ladi and Md Eddy Ratno Hj Abu Bakar. The 13 athletes will be competing in tanding and seni bela diri - tunggal, ganda and regu. Persib president Pg Hj Mohamad Pg Hj Ludin, who was present yesterday, had some wise words to share with the national team before they left, "Be confident with your abilities, to not only fulfil your own expectations but also the department and the society."

Courtesy from Brunei Times