KUCHING: Sarawak muaythai exponent Emylia Lynn Ghazali Zulfikar returned home with a SUKMA gold medal today after surviving a tense final minute to seal victory in Selangor.
Better known as Mia Ghazali, she defeated Johor’s Damia Husna 34–33 in the final yesterday to secure the gold medal for Sarawak.
Speaking upon her arrival at Kuching International Airport, Mia said getting through the closing stages of the bout was the toughest part of the fight.
“Probably surviving the last minute,” she told the media.
With her opponent continuing to land strikes, Mia said her focus was simply on holding out until the bout ended.
“I just held it. Held it until the last second,” she said.
The victory came after two months of preparation, during which she trained every day ahead of the Games.
“About two months of training. Training every day,” she said.
Mia said bringing the gold medal home to Sarawak meant a lot to her and thanked those who had supported her throughout the competition.
“I’m happy.
“Thank you to those who have been with me and supported me throughout this whole event,” she added.
Her attention will now turn to her next competition, with Mia set to compete at Siam Real Combat (SRC) in Bangkok later this year.
She said preparations for the Bangkok competition would begin following her SUKMA campaign.
