PETALING JAYA: Wushu exponent Kimberly Goh’s hopes of making a golden debut for Sarawak in Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Kuala Terengganu last May were dashed when she came down with an ankle injury just before the competition.

But Kimberly now has a chance to shine on a bigger stage when she leads a 12-member Malaysian squad for the World Junior Championships, which begin today in Bali.

The 16-year-old is the only remaining member of the Malaysian squad who raked in a medal haul of 6-8-7 in the previous championships in Kuala Lumpur in 2006. Then, Kimberly contributed a gold in the girls’ taijiquan in Group B (13-15).

She will be competing in Group A (16-18) this time in three events — taijiquan, taijijian (taiji sword) and qiangshu (spear).

Despite the lack of training, Kimberly is determined to make her presence felt in the World Juniors.

“The last time, I took part in two events. I have one more event (qiangshu) this time and I hope to get better results,” said Kimberly, who left with the team for Bali last Sunday.

 It will only be the fourth international outing for Kimberly. She made her debut in the Asian Junior Championships in Singapore in 2005 and missed out on the taijiquan gold by a whisker.

After sitting out the Terengganu Sukma, Kimberly made her second appearance in the Asian Juniors in South Korea last July but did not win any medal.

“I had yet to fully recover from the injury and did not give my best. But the injury has healed since then,” she said.

Kimberly is among the three Ma­­laysian exponents rated as potential gold medallists in the World Juniors. The two others with international exposure are 2007 Korat SEA Games silver medallist Tai Cheau Xuen (girls’ Group A) and Foong Foo Mun (boys’ Group B), who featured in the Asian Juniors this year.

Cheau Xuen will compete in three events — nanquan, nandao and nangun. And Foo Mun is down for the taijiquan and taijijian disciplines.

The Wushu Federation of Malaysia president, Datuk Seri Kee Yong Wee, said that the trio are Malaysia’s best bets for medals as the others are still short on international experience.

“Moreover, most of the exponents have not been training intensively because they had just finished their school exams,” he said.

The national team are coached by Yoong Thong Foong and Zhang Shaoyi.

Besides Groups A and B, the second World Junior Championships will see the inclusion of Group C, which is for exponents between the ages of 10 and 12.