Doing the country proud
Putting Brunei on the map: Ak Md Khairul Bahri Pg Aliumar (L) and Norleyermah Raya show off their bronze medals. Picture: Jason Thomas
Sunday, October 28, 2007
BRUNEI'S Ak Md Khairul Bahri Pg Aliumar won bronze in Class G (75 to 80kg) men's 'tanding (combat)' event after losing to Singapore's Mohammad Razif in the semi-finals.
His teammate Norleyermah Raya also took home a bronze medal scoring 454 points in the final of the women's 'jurus tunggal (solo)' event to finish third.
Q: How does it feel to win the bronze medal at the World Silat Championships in Pahang?
A: Ak Md Khairul Bahri: I feel very relieved and I would like to thank Allah for this. I think I could have won the event if not for the high standard of the competition it was very tough.
Norleyermah: I did not expect to win any medals in Pahang, so it was a pleasant surprise. I was not confident of winning medals because I knew there were better exponents there.
Q: What do you think is the long run impact of winning the medal?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: This success will definitely make me train harder for future tournaments.
Norleyermah: I would have to agree with that. I think this bronze medal will only make me prepare harder and motivate me for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Q: What was it like competing at the World Silat Championships for the first time?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: There were a lot of people at Kuantan's Sukpa Stadium, which is kind of like the Indoor Stadium in Brunei but a lot bigger. The Sukpa Stadium was packed everyday (the tournament was held from Oct 21 to 25) and I was nervous at first. But, after a while I thrived on the atmosphere.
Norleyermah: Because there were a lot of people there, I kind of froze for a bit. But when I was performing all thoughts of 'freezing' escaped my head.
Q: How was it like spending part of your Hari Raya away from family and friends?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: Raya just did not feel the same and I couldn't wait for the tournament to be over so we could return to Brunei.
Norleyermah: Being away in Pahang during Raya dampened my festive spirit.
Q: What motivated you then?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I took my wife along to Pahang and knowing that she was there for me gave me a lot of confidence.
Norleyermah: My sister, Norleydiana, won gold in a regu event at the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games and I always think of that when I want to encourage or motivate myself.
Q: How often did you train to prepare for the tournament?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: We trained everyday except for Sundays.
Norleyermah: Yes, it was very intense. We trained in the morning, afternoon and again at night. Even throughout the month of Ramadhan.
Q: Didn't you find that tiring?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: Yes, it was very tiring, but we had gotten used to it.
Norleyermah: I agree. It took a while for your body to adjust but you got used to it.
Q: How long have you been involved with the national silat team?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I used to be in the national taekwando team, but I switched to silat last year. So I have been with the national silat team for around a year.
Norleyermah: I have been practising silat for the past seven years, but only joined the national team just before the Manila SEA Games in 2005.
Q: What are your hopes for the future?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I hope to be able to maintain my level of performance and to represent the country in future events.
Norleyermah: I hope to be able to continue representing the country and I hope that my performances will motivate others.
Q: What does one need to succeed in silat?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: You need to have commitment and always listen to your trainer's advice.
Norleyermah: You need to have patience during training and you must also be serious about it.
Q: How would you rate the standard of silat in Brunei compared to other countries?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I think we are more or less on the same level. However, competing against countries such as Azerbaijan and even Singapore, I noticed that their exponents were a lot bigger than us.
Norleyermah: I think we are around the same level, though we can do with more development within the sport.
Q: How can silat in Brunei progress?
A: Norleyermah: We need to send more exponents to overseas tournament.
Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: That is true. Because we can never realise what our full potential or real standard is if we only compete among ourselves.
The Brunei Times
His teammate Norleyermah Raya also took home a bronze medal scoring 454 points in the final of the women's 'jurus tunggal (solo)' event to finish third.
Q: How does it feel to win the bronze medal at the World Silat Championships in Pahang?
A: Ak Md Khairul Bahri: I feel very relieved and I would like to thank Allah for this. I think I could have won the event if not for the high standard of the competition it was very tough.
Norleyermah: I did not expect to win any medals in Pahang, so it was a pleasant surprise. I was not confident of winning medals because I knew there were better exponents there.
Q: What do you think is the long run impact of winning the medal?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: This success will definitely make me train harder for future tournaments.
Norleyermah: I would have to agree with that. I think this bronze medal will only make me prepare harder and motivate me for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Q: What was it like competing at the World Silat Championships for the first time?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: There were a lot of people at Kuantan's Sukpa Stadium, which is kind of like the Indoor Stadium in Brunei but a lot bigger. The Sukpa Stadium was packed everyday (the tournament was held from Oct 21 to 25) and I was nervous at first. But, after a while I thrived on the atmosphere.
Norleyermah: Because there were a lot of people there, I kind of froze for a bit. But when I was performing all thoughts of 'freezing' escaped my head.
Q: How was it like spending part of your Hari Raya away from family and friends?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: Raya just did not feel the same and I couldn't wait for the tournament to be over so we could return to Brunei.
Norleyermah: Being away in Pahang during Raya dampened my festive spirit.
Q: What motivated you then?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I took my wife along to Pahang and knowing that she was there for me gave me a lot of confidence.
Norleyermah: My sister, Norleydiana, won gold in a regu event at the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games and I always think of that when I want to encourage or motivate myself.
Q: How often did you train to prepare for the tournament?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: We trained everyday except for Sundays.
Norleyermah: Yes, it was very intense. We trained in the morning, afternoon and again at night. Even throughout the month of Ramadhan.
Q: Didn't you find that tiring?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: Yes, it was very tiring, but we had gotten used to it.
Norleyermah: I agree. It took a while for your body to adjust but you got used to it.
Q: How long have you been involved with the national silat team?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I used to be in the national taekwando team, but I switched to silat last year. So I have been with the national silat team for around a year.
Norleyermah: I have been practising silat for the past seven years, but only joined the national team just before the Manila SEA Games in 2005.
Q: What are your hopes for the future?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I hope to be able to maintain my level of performance and to represent the country in future events.
Norleyermah: I hope to be able to continue representing the country and I hope that my performances will motivate others.
Q: What does one need to succeed in silat?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: You need to have commitment and always listen to your trainer's advice.
Norleyermah: You need to have patience during training and you must also be serious about it.
Q: How would you rate the standard of silat in Brunei compared to other countries?
A: Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: I think we are more or less on the same level. However, competing against countries such as Azerbaijan and even Singapore, I noticed that their exponents were a lot bigger than us.
Norleyermah: I think we are around the same level, though we can do with more development within the sport.
Q: How can silat in Brunei progress?
A: Norleyermah: We need to send more exponents to overseas tournament.
Ak Mohd Khairul Bahri: That is true. Because we can never realise what our full potential or real standard is if we only compete among ourselves.
The Brunei Times
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