Kuala Lumpur: It was a glorious night for Malaysia as Sabahan lass, Cassandra J. Poyong became the first Malaysian female to win a gold medal in the recent Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2019, which drew thousands of athletes from around the world. The world stage tournament is regarded as the largest and most important event on the global Jiu-Jitsu calendar.
The 30-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent romped her way to the gold by defeating two other contestants, Marianna Jurkiewicz from Poland and Brazil’s Jelsilene Monteiro in the women’s under 55kg category.
The affable Sabahan, who trains out of the Monarchy MMA gym in Kuala Lumpur, shared in her Instagram post that her win was truly a team effort. “From the gruelling training to the crazy weight cuts and insane bath salt soak… I knew that everyone was just behind me. They supported my decisions and my every move.”
It has been a long and tedious process to get to where she has, from meticulous preparations to ensuring that she kept to a good diet and mental state, but as Cassandra puts it: “It’s all been worth it!”
Asked how she felt about her achievement, Cassandra said: “Personally, it feels great but more importantly, I want Malaysians to know that they can too. Especially girls; I want them to feel empowered.”
The Kota Kinabalu-born athlete has enjoyed some degree of success in her sport, having garnered two golds in this year’s IBJJF Manila Open, and various other gold medals in Malaysia’s own Copa da Malasia Jiu-Jitsu tournament.