He has been entrusted with captaining the karate squad for next month’s SEA Games – but it will come with heavy expectations.
Not only has karate been tasked with delivering five gold medals, Kunasilan will be under pressure to maintain Malaysia’s good tradition in the kumite below 55kg event.
Kunasilan is fighting in the below 55kg category for the first time in an event where Malaysian exponents have always prevailed since the 1997 Jakarta SEA Games.
C. Muralitharan bagged gold in that category then, before going on to win an Asian Games gold medal the following year.
It was then R. Puvaneswaran’s turn to taste glory in Brunei (1999), Kuala Lumpur (2001), Korat (2007) and Laos (2009) before he called it a day.
Loganeshaa Rao stepped up to the challenge in Jakarta two years ago and was successful in his maiden SEA Games outing.
Loganeshaa has since retired due to injuries and Kunasilan has now been tasked to keep the gold in Malaysian hands.
Kunasilan, who won the SEA Games gold in the below 60kg category in his debut in Manila in 2005, admitted that the weight of expectation is proving too much of a burden.
“I will be up against Indonesian and Vietnamese fighters who are determined to keep us from winning. As the captain, I have the responsibility to lead the team to glory and motivate the younger ones.
“It is not easy but I know I have to be ready to fight and beat anyone to become the champion,” said the 28-year-old exponent from Ipoh, who will be making his fifth SEA Games appearance.
Kunasilan, who is also the 2006 Asian Games silver medallist, will also be fighting in the team event in what could be his last SEA Games appearance.
However Kunasilan, who retained his national title in Kuala Lumpur last month, is not thinking about that yet.
“My focus now is on doing well at the SEA Games. After that, I’ll think about my future,” said Kunasilan, who finished with a bronze at the last SEA Games.
Karate, despite missing three of its SEA Games gold medallists from Indonesia, are targeted to bring home five gold medals from Myanmar.
Shaharudin Jamaludin is the only winner from Indonesia fighting in Myanmar, with G. Yamini also following in the footsteps of Loganeshaa in retiring while K. Teagarajan was not selected.
thestar.com.my
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