Sapok and Co have big plans for Cup

14/06/1998

THE Malaysian team, fresh from their two golds, one silver and three
bronze medal haul in the East Africa Boxing Championship in Seychelles,
have plans to take the King's Cup in Shah Alam by storm today.
The six-day tournament at Stadium Melawati will also see entries from
Thailand and Indonesia.
Taiwan too will send their best boxers but they are not expected to make
an impression.
"Except for Uten Utapon from Thailand in the 51kg category, the rest of
the foreign entries are on par with our boxers," said organising secretary
Kol (Rtd) Mohamed Yusof Said yesterday.
"Last year, when we invited boxers from Khazakstan, Turkistan, Japan and
South Korea, we only won two silver and three bronze medals.
"These countries had the Asian champions so we did not do very well.
This time around, the tournament will be evenly contested."
Utapon made the quarterfinals of the Atlanta Olympics and won the gold
in the Jakarta Sea Games. For the King's Cup, he will have Rakib Ahmad,
who won the silver in Seychelles, for company.
In the 48kg category, Sapok Biki, 23, Malaysia's sole representative at
the 1996 Olympics and adjudged Boxer of the Tournament in Seychelles, is
expected to walk away with the title.
"Sapok is tipped to win the 48kg title but Mubin Latif is said to have
been training hard enough to topple Sapok. It would be interesting to
watch their bout."
Reitzman Zakaria, 18, who won the gold for Sabah in the Malaysia Games,
is also knocking on the doors of the national team.
The Pre-Games will also test, among others, the scoring system.
"The judges will use computers to give marks during the match. In the
end, the computer will tally up the total score. It is actually an
objective scoring system with guidelines to minimise outside influence.
MALAYSIA - 48kg: Sapok Biki, Mubin Latif, Jefri Mohamed, Reitzman
Zakaria; 51kg: Rakib Ahmad, Eddie Suip, Zulhaizman Ibrahim; 54kg: Adnan
Jusuh, Jaiwat Yamun, Zainudin Zakaria, Jefridin Yatim; 57kg: Benny Thomas,
Azani Azam Yusuf, Rohaizam Baharudin, Jason Talad; 60kg: Muruguthevan,
Ismail Ariffin; 63.5kg: Samsudin Maidin, Isnizar Yup, Joharnizam Hashim;
75kg: Beng Huat Cheng.
(END)