ARMED with a law degree, Cassandra J. Poyong was fighting in a different court yesterday — the jiu-jitsu type.
The Malaysian put up a good fight but had to settle for silver, losing narrowly 3-0 to Philippines’ Annie Ramirez in the women’s below 55kg final.
The Sino-Kadazan, a skilful exponent of the Brazillian martial art, started off by whipping Vietnam’s Hoang Thi Thu Thuong 100-0 to reach the semi-finals.
She then edged Fiona Toh of Singapore 2-0 for a place in the final.
“Jiu-jitsu made its debut here (in the Sea Games) and I am very proud to win a medal, irrespective of the colour,” she said.
“I fought an exponent with a higher belt ranking in the final. She has a brown belt while I ranked below as a purple holder.
“In Sea Games jiu-jitsu, there is no separation as they place any belt holders to fight together in the same weight category.
“Annie was very cautious today. I tried to beat her at her own pace but it was not to be,” said Cassandra, who is the first Malaysian exponent to win gold at the World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Abu Dhabi this year.
The Malaysian jiu-jitsu team also won two bronze medals through Lee Ai Jin in the women’s below 45kg and Adam Akasyah in the men’s below 69kg.