HANGZHOU: Young karate exponent Lovelly Anne Robberth (pix) who ended the country’s 13-year wait for a medal from karate, could not hold back her tears after dedicating the silver medal she had won, to her late mother Adriana Pamela Sundangit.
The 19-year-old exponent from Penampang, Sabah, who was competing in the Games for the first time, burst into tears when she mentioned that she was dedicating the historic medal to her mother who died of brain complications in 2016.
“This medal is for my mother who passed away in 2016. Finally, I was able to stand on the podium with an Olympian and prove to everyone what I can do as a Malaysian in the Asian Games,“ she said with tears in her eyes.
According to Lovelly Anne, her late mother died of brain complications and since then she has been living in Penampang with her father, family and grandmother and the Sabahan who dreams of a bright career in karate, now lives and trains at the National Sports Council (MSN) in Bukti Jalil.
Earlier, Lovelly Anne won silver in the women’s singles after losing to 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Kiyou Shimizu of Japan in the deciding match for the gold medal at the Linping Sports Centre gymnasium.
With this success, the national contingent has achieved the set target of 27 medals.
Lovelly Anne’s performance matches the silver medal won by Lim Lee Lee in Busan, South Korea, in 2002.
The glory of this medal also ended the national karate camp’s 13-year wait for a place on the podium at this event. The last time this was achieved was Lee Lee, who won bronze in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.
The gold medal was won by Shimizu. It was the third consecutive medal for the 29-year-old since the 2014 edition in Incheon, South Korea. –Bernama
