Shahmalarani Chandran Debuted as a Gold Medalist in Karate at the #SEAGamesVietnam2021

C. Shahmalarani, a Master of Actuarial Science student made her explosive debut on the SEA Games stage to emerge as a winner on the opening day of the competition at the Ninh Binh Sports Gymnasium.

She showed she had killer kicks to go with her calculus knowledge by storming to gold in the women’s kumite below 50kg event.

The 24-year-old was awarded the gold medal after her opponent Chippensuk Chanyanuk of Thailand dislocated her elbow in the final and could not continue. Shahmalarani was already leading when the Thai fell awkwardly during a tussle. Shahmalarani advanced to the final after beating Ririhena Sharon Verlina of Indonesia 9-1 in the second round and Laos exponent Laoyang Kengthong 8-0 in the third round.

She was thrilled that her five-year wait to compete on the SEA Games stage had ended so well.

“Winning a SEA Games gold medal for Malaysia has always been my dream. I waited so long for this opportunity because I gave up the chance to compete in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Games because I had to finish my university studies,” said Shahmalarani.

“So to all Malaysians, don’t give up on your dreams. This is for you,” added Shahmalarani, who is now doing her Masters studies at Sunway University.

This was published in The Star, on 19 May 2022.