THREE MUAY THAI GOLD MEDALS BOLSTER LEGACY PLANS FOR 2027 SEA GAMES - MUHAMMAD SHAHNAZ

From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

BANGKOK, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- The national Muay Thai squad’s success in clinching a total of 10 medals, including three gold, at the SEA Games Thailand 2025 here is seen as an early indicator of efforts to build the combat sport’s legacy ahead of Malaysia hosting the 2027 edition.

Malaysian Muay Thai Association (PMM) president Datuk Muhammad Shahnaz Azmi described the overall achievement as a major success, especially given that Muay Thai is not a core sport at the Games.

He said the achievement must now be translated into long-term legacy building by placing greater emphasis on the development of young and junior athletes.

“We always want to leave a legacy when we win medals. By legacy, we mean encouraging more young people to take up Muay Thai and nurturing the next generation of junior athletes.

“When we organise the national youth championships, thousands of athletes take part, and this success at the SEA Games will serve as strong motivation for them to progress to the next level,” he said when met here.

According to Muhammad Shahnaz, the success in winning three gold medals has also strengthened PMM’s position in proposing more categories to be contested at the 2027 edition.

He said the selection of categories would be carried out strategically, while remaining guided by the principles of sportsmanship.

“In 2017, we only had five men’s categories. This time, in 2027, I believe we can have more than 10 categories, and MASOC (Malaysian SEA Games Organising Committee), MSN (National Sports Council) and MOM (Malaysian Olympic Council) should have no objections, given that we have proven our capability by delivering three gold medals,” he said.

“If we are the host and Thailand is the main competitor, naturally, we want to limit the number of categories in which they can dominate. That is a strategy adopted in any sport, but we will still open up categories to other countries in the interest of fair play and sportsmanship,” he said.

At this edition, the national Muay Thai camp created a sensation by winning three gold medals, contributed by Angie Yan Jia Chi in the women’s Wai Kru event, Wassof Rujiman in the men’s 54-kilogramme (kg) category, and Muhammad Mikail Ghazali Zulfikar in the men’s 57kg category.

In addition, Malaysia secured three silver medals through Eva Anatasia Warren in the women’s 48kg category, Insyad Rumijam (men’s 51kg) and Nur Amisha Azrilriza (women’s 51kg).

The overall haul of three gold, three silver and four bronze medals marked a significant improvement for the national camp, which had managed only one gold and one silver at the 2021 edition in Vietnam. Muay Thai was not contested at the 2023 edition in Cambodia.

“In fact, our target here was just one gold, as our focus is to prepare the team for 2027, so that we can add up to four more gold medals when we become the hosts,” said Muhammad Shahnaz.

-- BERNAMA