DistantNews
Support us
Shahmalarani defends SEAKF 2026 gold medal for Malaysia
🇲🇾 Malaysia /Sports

Shahmalarani defends SEAKF 2026 gold medal for Malaysia

From Utusan Malaysia · () Malay

Translated from Malay, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Malaysian karateka C. Shahmalarani defended her Southeast Asian Karate Federation (SEAKF) 2026 women's under-50kg kumite title in Hanoi, Vietnam.
  • The 27-year-old athlete was the sole senior gold medalist for Malaysia at the championship, also contributing to a silver medal in the women's kumite team event.
  • Malaysia finished the SEAKF 2026 with six gold, six silver, and 18 bronze medals across cadet, junior, and senior categories, providing a positive outlook for upcoming major tournaments like the Asian Games.

Malaysia's karate star C. Shahmalarani proved her enduring prowess by successfully defending her Southeast Asian Karate Federation (SEAKF) 2026 gold medal in the women's under-50kg kumite event. Her victory in Hanoi, Vietnam, injects confidence into the national contingent ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.

defended the 2026 SEAKF gold medal

— C. ShahmalaraniHer victory in Hanoi, Vietnam, injects confidence into the national contingent ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.

The 27-year-old athlete emerged as Malaysia's sole gold medalist in the senior categories at the championship, which concluded Monday. Shahmalarani, a three-time SEA Games champion, defeated Vietnam's Pham Thi Dao 2-1 in the final. She had previously overcome Nguyen Phuong Thao 5-2 in the opening round and decisively beaten the Philippines' Sobrepena Hanabelle 9-1 in the semifinals.

emerged as Malaysia's sole gold medalist in the senior categories

The 27-year-old athlete emerged as Malaysia's sole gold medalist in the senior categories at the championship, which concluded Monday.

Beyond her individual triumph, Shahmalarani also played a key role in the national women's kumite team securing a silver medal, narrowly losing 1-2 to Vietnam in the final match. However, the Malaysian contingent faced disappointment as defending SEA Games champion K. Thevendran failed to retain his title in the men's under-55kg category, losing 3-5 to Vietnam's Do Duy Khanh in the semifinals and subsequently falling 0-6 to Thailand's Ingloy Natthakrit in the bronze repechage.

defeated Vietnam's Pham Thi Dao 2-1 in the final

Shahmalarani, a three-time SEA Games champion, defeated Vietnam's Pham Thi Dao 2-1 in the final.

Other medalists for Malaysia included Mohd Haznil Henry, who earned a silver in the men's senior kata individual event after a close 2-3 loss to Indonesia's Edbert Setiabudi Christopher. Zakiah Adnan also secured a silver medal in the women's under-61kg kumite, losing 0-8 to Vietnam's Hoang Thi My Tam. Overall, Malaysia concluded the SEAKF 2026 with a haul of six gold, six silver, and 18 bronze medals across cadet, junior, and senior divisions, signaling a promising performance for upcoming major competitions, including the Asian Games.

narrowly losing 1-2 to Vietnam in the final match

Beyond her individual triumph, Shahmalarani also played a key role in the national women's kumite team securing a silver medal, narrowly losing 1-2 to Vietnam in the final match.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Utusan Malaysia in Malay. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog