PETALING JAYA: Karate coach P. Arivalagan has received an early setback in preparing exponents to defend the SEA Games overall title in Laos in December.
Arivalagan has been forced to leave out Pavitern Prataban from the training squad. The exponent for the above 80kg kumite event torn a ligament in his left knee during a training stint in Japan last week and will be out for six months.
The 18-year-old Sukma (Malaysia Games) gold medallist in Terengganu last year was the only exponent from the back-up squad to be promoted to the senior ranks this year. Last month, Pavitern took silver in the Hong Kong Open.
Although Pavitern is expected to return to training before the Laos Games, Arivalagan said that he was leaving him out of the team.
“He needs about three months to be ready for competition. We would have gone through the intensive training period when he returns and it would be difficult for him to catch up,” he said.
“Pavitern was one of the better ones from the junior ranks and I had wanted to include him for the Asian Martial Arts Games in Bangkok (now postponed because of the political turmoil in Thailand). But this is a serious injury and I had to exclude him.”
Arivalagan added that he would be looking at another back-up exponent, G. Nagatheeban, as the replacement.
“I have him in my mind and I will evaluate his performances in competitions before making a decision,” he said.
The national championships will be in June while the KOI World Cup will be held in Sarawak the following month.
At the 2007 SEA Games in Korat, Malaysia emerged as overall champions with eight gold medals.
from: http://thestar.com.my/
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