Koo wins second Brunei Inline Street Battle

EIGHTEEN-year-old Koo Jin Chen emerged champion in the second edition of the Brunei Inline Street Battle yesterday and won a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur and entrance to train at the Mount Kiara Stadium.

A joint effort by Rock Paper Scissors and supported by SURKREW Photography and Wheel Love, the Inline Street Battle was held at the 31st Street Skate Park in Lambak Kanan yesterday.

Md Noraaffandy Hj Sahari finished second while third place went to Asroy Ali Yusof.

A total of 15 skaters from Bandar Seri Begawan, Tutong and Kuala Belait gathered yesterday to vie for the ultimate prize a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur.

"I've been skating for six years now and it feels great to win my first competition," said Koo.

"One thought shared by all the skaters here is that it would be a dream come true if one day skating will be well accepted and admired by the general public in Brunei," he added.

He showed some extraordinary tricks en route to the victory such as the 'Truespin Mizou', 'Soul', 'Topside Acid', 'Backside Unity', and a trick that he doubted he could pull off, the 'Negative Fishbrain', which he executed perfectly.

"My aim is simply to promote inline skating, give the youth a chance to try something different," said Bahrum Jaili, manager of Rock Paper Scissors.

Bahrum said that skating strengthened nearly every muscle in the body and conditioned an individual both physically and mentally.

"I want to keep this effort going and hopefully if more youth take up this sport, inline skating will be more accepted in our society," Bahrum Jaili told The Brunei Times yesterday.

The next Brunei Inline Street Battle is expected to be held in October. The first edition of the competition was held earlier this year.

The Brunei Times