The event saw over 500 athletes descend on the southern Malaysian state to battle it out with the boys and girls from the Blue Tree based gym showing the best version of themselves to win four gold medals, one silver and four bronze against tough competition.
As captain for the Dojo David led the way by example, fearlessly winning his final contest with very good strategy and smart, powerful technique. It is little wonder Dojo lead instructor Alexis Plantard says the sky is the limit for his young student.
Simiarly Sagit, who won all his four contests by ippon (the highest score a fighter can achieve) and who has developed tremendously well over the past 12 months.
Considering it was his first competition event, Leo did not display any nerves as he won all four of his matches in hugely impressive style, securing his yellow belt accreditation in the process. A beaming Alexis stated how Leo had “fought like a tiger”.
Also competing in her first competition was young Lea, who won her three-contest division to claim gold, while Max won silver in his first bow for a long time, having been overseas for an extended period. Max also secured his yellow belt with his victory.
Rounding off the competition debutant contingent was Daniil who claimed a bronze medal by winning two of his three contests with a very powerful style.
Dima also won bronze by winning two of his four bouts. Proving that he is getting stronger every month, he secured his orange belt status in Johor.
Fellow bronze medalists were Mayel, who won two of his three fights and is also showing great progress, and Yana, who showed great courage and never gave up in any of her bouts.
TOUGH CONTEST
Prior to this the team had competed at the Indonesian International Judo Open in Jakarta on the weekend of Nov 23-24.
With over 800 athletes involved it was always going to be a tough contest and that is exactly how it transpired.
However, demonstrating tough resolve, the team still managed to return home with two gold medals and a bronze.
Student David won his gold after defeating tough opposition as four opponents from Indonesia and one from Uzbekistan were overcome in style.
Captain Gabin secured a bronze medal in a very tough division. His final medal of the year meant he was the Dojo’s top performing student in 2024 in terms of medals, making the podium at competitions in 10 different countries throughout the year.
Completing the medal haul for the Dojo was lead instructor Alexis who won gold after seeing off strong opposition from Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
This victory put Alexis in good stead for his next competition, the world championships of kurash wrestling kurash in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Dec 6.
Despite what Alexis claimed was a contentious refreering performance in the semi-final, he still managed to win bronze against a field of top athletes.
“I was leading the semi-final match and so close to the final before the referee penalised me for a foul I simply did not commit,” Alexis explained.
“However, during my last five world championships in kurash wrestling I never managed to get higher than fifth place so this demonstrates progress and for that I am happy,” he added.
The Ulaanbaatar was Alexis’ final competition of 2024 which saw him fight 82 matches in 27 tournaments all around the world. “I will take a rest now and get back to training shortly,” Alexis told The Phuket News.
Despite their sterling performances throughout 2024, the Dojo team are still facing an unceratin future, having been told by their current landlord at Blue Tree they had to vacate the premises by Jan 1.
Alexis said he has managed to locate a new venue but construction at a cost of B2 million has yet to begin and it will be several months before it is ready to welcome the students.
“Until then I will simply open my house and roll the practice mats out in my garden to ensure that we continue to train and develop the best generation of students. We will never give up and the sky is the limit,” he said.