THERE’S good news from New Clark City hospital.
Silat exponent Faizul Nasir is awake and there seems to be no major damage to his neck tissues.
Faizul received a nasty kick on his neck from Philippine exponent Dines Dumaan in the 55kg category of the men’s tanding event on Tuesday.
Faizul was expected to deliver gold, but his exponent looked like he was made of steel and his kick caused panic at the Convention Centre.
Faizul was unconscious when rushed to the Subic Bay Hospital and, initially, had to be placed in the intensive care unit (ICU) as he did not respond to treatment.
National Sports Council (NSC) director for athletics Jefri Ngadirin, who visited him yesterday, said
‘all is ok and the exponent can also eat’.
‘The kick damaged some neck tissues, I was told, but no bone was broken. He will be under observation in ICU for at least another day before he can be transferred to the normal ward... depending on his progress,’ said Jefri, who added that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan revealed no injury to the brain either.
Faizul is one of Malaysia’s top silat exponents and won gold in 2015 Singapore Games and 2017 KL Games
He also won silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.