image: https://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/online/2018/08/28/16/13/silat-st-260818.ashx/?w=620&h=413&crop=1&hash=E60380AC60EA341363CA5FD6B161DA489B044B9B
Singapore's Sheik Ferdous grimacing in pain after receiving an illegal kick to the back by Malaysia's Muhammad Robial Sobri in the Pencak Silat Men's Class I semi-finals in Jakata, Indonesia, on Aug 26, 2018. He won the match 5-0. – The Straits Times/ANN
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian silat exponent caused an uproar after he kicked his Singapore opponent – who had fallen to the ground – in the back, leaving him writhing in pain during the Asian Games in Jakarta on Sunday (Aug 26).
In an original video clip uploaded on a Facebook page on Monday and which is going viral,the two athletes – Malaysia's Muhammad Robial Sobri and Singapore's Sheik Ferdous Sheik Alau'ddin, are seen resuming their bout in their Class I (85-90kg) semi-finals, when Sheik Ferdous trips and falls to the ground.
Muhammad Robial's first kick, just as Sheik Ferdous falls, misses.
However, the Malaysian follows up with another hard kick, right to his opponent's exposed back.
Sheik Ferdous said that he managed to brace himself as he saw the kick coming.
"After he kicked, I thought, 'Ah, he actually did it... I'm just going to take this time to absorb the pain'.
"I expected him to do that but now I feel better. After you win, you forget your injuries," he said.
The video has been viewed over 191,000 times and shared over 3,500 times, with many hostile comments made against Muhammad Robial.
"This is crazy. It is an embarrassment to Malaysians at the international level," Facebook user Zulkarnain Ismail Aduh wrote.
Another Facebook user Sanjay C Kuttan said if he was a Malaysian, he would be very embarrassed and disheartened to see such poor sportsmanship.
"The Malaysian authorities should reprimand him to send a signal it doesn't tolerate such unsportsmanlike behavior. Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole basket," he added.
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had on Sunday congratulated Muhammad Robial for winning the bronze medal in the event via Twitter, but replies to his tweet chided the athlete's attitude.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/other-sport/2018/08/29/malaysian-silat-exponent-delivers-unsporting-kick-to-back/#tZHJK24tqIfkZXVU.99
