KUALA LUMPUR: National poomsae exponent Nur Humaira Abdul Karim has proven to be the ideal successor to her sister, Nur Hidayah, who recently retired from the sport.
The 22-year-old teamed up with Jason Loo, her sister's former partner, to secure a bronze medal for Malaysia in the mixed pair Under-30 category at the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Jason-Nur Humaira outperformed competitors from Hong Kong, Austria and Singapore to reach the semi-finals, where they fell to Vietnam.
Despite the loss, their efforts ensured Malaysia a place on the podium.
Vietnam later clinched silver behind category winners Taiwan, while Norway shared the bronze medal with Malaysia.
National coach Yap Yiih Ting praised Nur Humaira for continuing her sister's legacy.
Jason-Nur Hidayah were silver medallists at the 2022 edition in Goyang, South Korea.
For the record, it was Nur Humaira's second medal at the world championships, having won a women's team bronze alongside Nur Hidayah and Lim Jia Wei in Goyang.
"We have discovered another strong mixed pair combination in Nur Humaira and Jason, which bodes well for the Thailand Sea Games next year," said Yiih Ting.
"She seems to share the same chemistry with Jason as her sister did, and it's encouraging to see them excel on the international stage.
"The pair also won gold at the Asian Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Vietnam earlier this year."
Yiih Ting also paid tribute to South Korean coach Jin Jun Beom for preparing the team for the world championships.
Malaysia also claimed a silver medal through instructor Yeap Swee Bee in the women's Under-65 individual poomsae category.