Judoka exponent working hard to represent Malaysia at Youth Olympics in 2010

YOUNG judoka Chew Yen Peng will be tussling her way to stamp her mark in the national junior scene next season.

The 12-year-old said she was looking forward to taking up the tougher challenges in her bid to earn a place to represent the country at the Youth Olympics scheduled at Singapore in 2010.

“I took up the combat sport four years ago. Besides learning the techniques for self defence, judo is also a healthy pastime. So far, I have only proved my ability against my peers in the Selangor state junior competitions. It will be interesting to move on to the next level and take on the exponents from other states at the national junior meet,” added Chew, who scored 5As in the recent UPSR examination.

Over the past three years, the Year Six pupil from Seri Suria in Hulu Langat has been showing her potential at the Selangor Junior Judo Championships.

Forceful attempt: Chew (right) exerting her power to floor her opponent.

After winning the girls’ Under-10 title in 2006, she claimed the top spot in the girls’ Under-12 category and was the recipient of the Most Promising Judoka Award in the girls’ section last year.

She continued to extend her domination to retain the girls’ Under-12 title this year.

Besides training under the tutelage of the Selangor Judo Association (SJA) coach Susan Cheah, another five volunteer trainers from the SJA stable are also guiding Chew to go through the paces in training.

Cheah said they had increased the intensity in training to groom and prepare Chew for a stiffer assignments.

“We have arranged extra classes for her and exposed her to train with the Under-14 boys to beef up. Currently, she is training up to four sessions a week. Her father (Chew Eng Kian) has also been supportive in encouraging her to scale greater heights. It is important for her to indicate that she is a frontrunner for the Youth Olympics when the national body revives the national junior competitions next year. We believe that she has a realistic chance in making the cut,” added Cheah.

Take that: Chew (front) trying to outdo her opponent in a sparring session.

Early this year, Chew had the privilege to join four other SJA trainees to learn the tricks of the trade from a well known mentor Adam Kayoom during a 10-day training stint in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Although the training there was tough, it was a good experience and eye opener for our trainees to learn from a top notch martial art exponent. They trained twice a day during their stay there. They went through conditioning workout in the morning followed by the finesse of groundwork drills conducted by Adam in the evening. Adam showed them various techniques to manoeuvre and control their opponent on the ground,” said Cheah.

For next season, Chew is expected to feature in age-group meets in Thailand and China to gauge her strength against a stronger field of junior competitors.

“I get excited with the opportunities to throw the boys around in training. My aim is to improve on my moves and give my best to do well in future competitions,” said Chew.