KANGAR – Although they do not have any medal targets, three close friends from the Perlis weightlifting camp are determined to do their best and bring glory to their home state during the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Games (Sukma) scheduled from June to August this year.
Driven by a deep interest in the sport, these three lasses from Perlis committed themselves to intensive training under their coach, former national weightlifter Mohd Faiz Musa, in preparation for Sukma.
Nurul Aisyah Athirah Nadzim, 15, said although it was the first time they were representing Perlis at Sukma, there would be no room for defeat for them.
“We will do our very best at Sukma,” she told Bernama recently.
Nurul Aisyah said her passion for weightlifting began two years ago when she saw weightlifters in action on social media, and her desire to follow in the footsteps of her older sister, Nurul Amira, 21, who will also be competing in KL Sukma.
Dhiya Raihan Dzulkarnain, 15, who has just been part of the Perlis squad for five months, also wants to do her best at Sukma with her teammates.
“Weightlifting is very fun and good for health, compared to us wasting time doing meaningless activities,” she said.
Iwana Izzah Sabri, 15, meanwhile, expressed her eagerness to compete at Sukma as she would be making her debut there.
Their coach, Mohd Faiz, said that 11 athletes, both men and women, will be carrying Perlis’ challenge in weightlifting and he was confident that they would secure medals at the event.
“There are so many new talents in Perlis with the potential of competing at a higher level, so I’m confident in their spirit that shows how far they can go in the sport,” he said.
Bernama had previously reported that the Perlis weightlifting team was targetting at least one gold medal at the KL Sukma.
In the 2018 edition in Perak, the team had to be satisfied with three silver and two bronze medals. – Bernama, March 21, 2022
