MALACCA (27/7/2022): The 19th edition of the World Pencak Silat Championship kicked off in style as the Malaysian silat contingent displayed a convincing performance in their respective opening matches in Ayer Keroh, Malacca today.

Being the first silat exponent to set foot in the ring, Luqman Laji the fighter who hails from Keningau, Sabah displayed calmness throughout his match as he was able to attract the cheering crowd with his astounding combatting moves & skills.

The Hanoi SEA Games bronze medallist collected 9,940 points to beat Muhd. Ali Saifullah Abdullah Md. Suhaimi from Brunei to secure a slot to the next stage.

National silat prodigy Mohd Shukrillah Badrillah also got to off to a good start as he used every muscle by collecting 9,895 points to defeat Tran Duc Dhanh from Vietnam who collected 9,890 points in the male solo creative category.

National silat prodigy Mohd Shukrillah Badrillah got off to a good start as he used every muscle by collecting 9,895 points to defeat Tran Duc Dhanh from Vietnam who collected 9,890 points in the male solo creative category.

Singapore’s powerhouse exponent Muhammad Iqbal Abdul stole the limelight in today’s qualifying stages as he displayed a scintillating performance against his fellow counterpart Belouad Ayoub from Algeria. The mouth-watering match ended with Muhammad Iqbal Abdul collecting 9,950 points to defeat Belouad Ayoub from Algeria (9,865 points).

For the record, Muhammad Iqbal has once beaten Luqman in the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Pencak Silat Championship which was held in Singapore last February.

Meanwhile, Vuong Thi Binh who hails from the land of the “ascending dragon” Vietnam collected 9,930 points to overcome the challenge of Thitirat Sae-Oung from Thailand who won 9,915 points in the women’s category.

The session for artistic silat continued to be dominated by the traditional powerhouses of pencak silat as Kadek Nyeneng and Putu Anom from Indonesia booked their spots in the Putra doubles category by collecting 9,940 points to defeat Abhishek Kumar Ghautam and Suraj Sharma from India who collected 9,265 points.

40 nations including debutants United States, Algeria and Germany will be vying to acquire the 19th World Pencak Silat Championship which is scheduled to reach its climax this coming Sunday.