KUALA LUMPUR: The national taekwondo poomsae team will kick-start their preparation for the 2027 Malaysia SEA Games, with an eye on expanding their medal potential in both recognised pattern and freestyle events.
Malaysian exponents have been regular medal contributors in recognised poomsae, with Jason Loo and Nur Hidayah Karim winning bronze at the 2024 World Poomsae Championships in Hong Kong, following their gold medal at the Asian Poomsae Championships in Vietnam.
At the Thailand Sea Games last month, the poomsae team delivered a gold medal in the women’s recognised team event through Seah Jing Ying, Wong Zin and Yow Mei Yee, while Jason, Chin Ken Haw and Randy Owen Augustine Linggi claimed bronze in the men’s event.
Ken Haw also contributed a bronze medal in the men’s individual freestyle event.
National coach Yap Yih Ting said 2025 was a successful year and athletes aim to maintain that momentum through 2026.
“We have good recognised poomsae athletes who have won medals at Asian and world level. We are now looking at improving our freestyle poomsae athletes,” said Yih Ting.
“We have identified the athletes and will work on improving their quality to be on par with our recognised poomsae exponents.
“This year, we aim to improve our athletes’ rankings to be among the top five in Asia. It is a tough challenge, but we are confident based on the athletes’ commitment and talent.”
The team will start the season at the Mount Everest International Open in Nepal on Feb 16.
Yih Ting said while conditions there would be tricky, it will serve as a good start before the team head to Europe for further exposure.
The calendar also includes the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from May 22-23, the World Poomsae Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea from Sept 16-20, and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from Sept 19-Oct 4.
Yih Ting said exposure for younger athletes is key.
“There’s a lot to do this year. We want to push our established athletes to the next level, and for the younger ones, we aim to expose them to competitions so they will be ready for the 2027 SEA Games,” he added.
“Our men athletes are in their early 20s, so they are quite experienced, but our women exponents are below 20 and need more polishing and competition exposure.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
