Karatekas H. Sureeya Sankar and C. Shahmalarani made a sensational debut at the Vietnam Sea Games by delivering gold medals from the kumite events at the Ninh Bình Province Sports Gymnasium in Hanoi yesterday.
However, it could have been more top of the podium finishes. Senior exponents S. Prem Kumar and M. Mathivani were unlucky in their respective events.
Shahmalarani started the ball rolling by winning the women's below 50kg event.
The 24-year-old was awarded the gold after her opponent in the final, Chippensuk Chanyanuk of Thailand suffered an injury and could not continue the bout.
The Selangor-born defeated Indonesia's Ririhena Sharon Verlina (9-1) and Laos' Laoyang Kengthong (8-0) in the opening rounds.
In the final, Chippensuk fell awkwardly and dislocated her elbow, thus had to retire from the bout.
A jubilant Shahmalarani said the gold medal win is a dream come true for her.
"I feel proud. It is always a dream for me to win a title for Malaysia so winning it in the Sea Games is like a dream coming true. This is for you, Malaysia," said Shahmalarani.
"The incident happened during the clinch. I am not really sure what happened, but my teammates told me that both of us fell, and she (Chippensuk) dislocated her elbow."
"It's a good start for me. This medal is a reward for the hard work over the years. I had missed the last three Sea Games due to my studies. I hope for a better year and a good outing in other competitions."
Sureeya Sankar then delivered the team's second gold medal in men's below 67kg.
Sureeya defeated Indonesia's Hutapea Tebing 5-3 in the final.
Seasoned campaigner Prem Kumar failed to stamp his mark in the below-60kg event and settled for the bronze.
Mathivani lost the bronze-medal bout in the women's below-61kg.
In the Kata event, Aiqal Asmadia delivered the bronze.