PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Junna Tsukii could not hide her frustration after dropping her gold-medal match in karate Saturday, May 6, in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center here.
*Junna Tsukii*
“How can I lose? I’m sure that I had the advantage but they chose her, so I don’t know what happened with the judge,” said Tsukii moments after absorbing a defeat to Malaysia’s Shahmalarani Chandran via judges' decision following a 1-1 tie. The 2022 World Games champion admitted she was not happy with her medal, believing that she was more active than her opponent during the match – a criteria needed in case fights end with ties. “I cannot understand why they gave her the point,” said Tsukii, a 2021 Asian Championship silver medalist. “If the point is 1-1, the one who is more active, more aggressive will win, will take advantage. But at the last moment, she didn’t attack.” Tsukii drew the first point by knocking down Shahmalarani, but the Malaysian champion was able to recover before time ran out and earned the judges’ nod. This was Tsukii’s first silver medal after winning three bronzes and a gold in the past.
*Junna Tsukii*
“How can I lose? I’m sure that I had the advantage but they chose her, so I don’t know what happened with the judge,” said Tsukii moments after absorbing a defeat to Malaysia’s Shahmalarani Chandran via judges' decision following a 1-1 tie. The 2022 World Games champion admitted she was not happy with her medal, believing that she was more active than her opponent during the match – a criteria needed in case fights end with ties. “I cannot understand why they gave her the point,” said Tsukii, a 2021 Asian Championship silver medalist. “If the point is 1-1, the one who is more active, more aggressive will win, will take advantage. But at the last moment, she didn’t attack.” Tsukii drew the first point by knocking down Shahmalarani, but the Malaysian champion was able to recover before time ran out and earned the judges’ nod. This was Tsukii’s first silver medal after winning three bronzes and a gold in the past.