Selangor Journal
National deaf karate athlete V. Yilamaran displaying his silver medal which he won at the 24th Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, shortly after arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on May 7, 2022. — Picture by BERNAMA

Yilamaran eyes gold at 2025 Tokyo Deaflympics

SEPANG, May 7 — Having just made the country proud with a silver medal at the 24th Deaflympic Games in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, national deaf karate athlete V. Yilamaran is already eyeing the gold in the next Deaflympics scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan in 2025.

Yilamaran, 22, said he made the commitment after missing out on the gold medal after losing to Ukrainian athlete Makhno Oleksanr in the final of the men’s under 84 kg kumite event recently.

“I was actually working to get the gold prior to heading to Brazil, and tried my best to compete against the Ukrainian athlete, but was unsuccessful.

“However, I am not giving up and will try to get the gold in Tokyo (in 2025),” he said when met by reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here today.

At the 24th Deaflympic Games, Yilamaran won the silver medal in the men’s under-84kg kumite event after losing to Oleksanr of Ukraine in the final, early Tuesday morning (May 3).

Earlier, the Johor-born athlete arrived safely from Brazil at KLIA with coach Chok Kong Yu and team manager Chan Kok Sheng at 2.54pm, and was greeted by Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf) advisor Datuk Naim Mohamad.

Meanwhile, Naim said he hoped Yilamaran would keep up his spirits to achieve the dream of winning the gold for the country at the Games in Tokyo.

At the same time, he hoped that the success achieved by the country’s deaf karate athletes would encourage various parties to come forward and help people like Yilamaran further improve their performance.

— Bernama

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Editor Selangor Journal