Brunei's Fathullah Mohd Taib
in action during yesterday's
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
taekwondo bantam weight
(58-63kg) first round match at
the POPKI Sports Hall in
Cibubur.Picture: BT/ Jason
Thomas

Mohd Fathullah Mohd Taib must still be thinking about yesterday's slim 2-1 loss to Malaysia's Rusfredy Tokan Petrus.

Though the Bruneian took a 1-0 lead at the start of their Southeast Asian (SEA) Games taekwondo bantam weight (58-63kg) first round (quarter-final) match, his aggressive approach failed to pay off at the POPKI Sports Hall in Cibubur.

After receiving the kick to the stomach which saw him surrender the point, the defensive-minded Malaysian was content to play a waiting game and bid his time, especially after stealing an equaliser before the first round was over.

Mohd Fathullah was the more adventurous of the two fighters but had a hard time finding a chink in Petrus' armour, and once the Malaysian made it 2-1 in the second round, Brunei's hopes of progressing to the next stage was all but gone.

Mohd Fathullah was the second Bruneian to fall at the first stage, though he was always in the tie and losing by one point is hardly anything to be ashamed of.

His teammate Mohammad Saifullah Hj Mohtar shared the welterweight (74-80kg) bronze medal with Vietnam's Vo Hoang Giao on Sunday despite losing 9-2 to Thailand's Nattapat Tantramar.

Mohammad Saifullah was given a bye into the semi-finals and was leading 2-0 before his opponent disabled him with a kick to the head, a blow that soon changed the game.

The inexperienced Mohammad Saifullah soldiered on as if nothing was wrong when seeking medical treatment would have been a better option.

Nattapat delivered three more kicks in the last 40 seconds, fatal blows which handed the Thai a ticket to the final.

Nattapat went on to win gold after beating Laos' Phimmasone Sawatvi in the final.

The results mean Mohd Fathullah and Mohammad Saifullah only took the floor once here in the 26th edition of the meet.

At least Mohd Fathullah's showing was a vast improvement from the last Games in Laos, where he was eliminated 11-1 by Singapore's Jason Tan in the same stage of the men's fin weight (below 54kg) category.

Courtesy from Brunei Times