National pencak silat athlete Zainorarif bin Zaini poses with his bronze medal. – KHAIRIL HASSAN
BRUNEI Darussalam’s pencak silat bronze medallist Zainorarif bin Zaini will be stepping up his training following his exploits in the Road to Asian Games in Padepokan, Jakarta recently.
Zainorarif said that he met Malaysian competitors before and was disappointed with the result with the overall score not far apart during his defeat against Malaysia star Razak Ghazali in the Class ‘D’ Tanding event.
“I’m quite nervous but this is not the first time that I faced an athlete from Malaysia,” said Zainorarif in an interview with the media.
“As part of preparations after the trial event in Jakarta, the association (PERSIB) will conduct adequate training for the real event in the Asian Games,” he said.
The national athlete also emphasised to challenge himself to make full training for future competitions.
“I feel like we can win these matches but maybe it is the fear that we need to overcome.
“Nevertheless, I feel that in terms of our style of play, we are on par,” said Zainorarif.
The national athlete also hoped to make the selection in the Asian Games in Jakarta in August.
