PETALING JAYA – Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang was crowned the Athlete of the Year at the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) 100Plus Unity 2020/2021 Awards today.
This would be his fourth award, having won in 2009, 2017 and 2019.
The 34-year-old track cycling star, however, could not attend the ceremony as he is still undergoing rehabilitation following open-heart surgery for a rare heart condition known as an anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery at the Epworth Richmond Hospital in Melbourne last April.
“I would like to thank SAM for this award, and my family and friends for praying for my health.
“This will further boost my spirit to get well and (is) motivation to achieve my performance as an athlete to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris,” Azizulhasni said in a recorded video during the award ceremony held at Hilton, Petaling Jaya.
The Dungun-born cyclist defeated five other candidates – leading men’s singles badminton shuttler Lee Zii Jia, leading men’s doubles badminton pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong Pamg, and Muay Thai athlete Rifdean Masdor.
Meanwhile, Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, once again emerged as the Best Para Athlete. He won his maiden title in 2019.
The national powerlifting athlete achieved many outstanding successes throughout 2020 and 2021.
Notably, he won Malaysia its first gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games in the 72kg category, while breaking the Paralympic record previously held by Iraq’s Rasool Mohsin in 2016 of 227kg by lifting 228kg in his third attempt.
Azizulhasni and Bonnie each received a trophy and cash amounting to RM10,000 presented by National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique.
Also present were Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker and F&N Holding Bhd Industry Government Relations and Halal Affairs director Datuk Raffiq Md Ariff.
Besides the Best Athlete and Best Para Athlete Award, SAM has also introduced two new categories under the Unity Award in collaboration with the National Unity Ministry – Best Unity Report and Best Unity Photography.
TV3’s Saiyed Ismail Saiyed Hussin won The Best Unity Report, while the Best Unity Photography went to CSN Sportstalk’s Luqmanul Arif Abdul Karim.
“As for the judging process, we use the services of external jurors without the involvement of SAM exco,” said SAM president Norismadi Abd Manap.
“Even I do not know who the jurors are because they are all discretely chosen by the organising committee.
“To my understanding, the jury members were some of the big names in the sports media industry who have served as editors-in-chief of sports.”
The SAM Awards were on a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and made a comeback by combining the 2020 and 2021 editions.
Norismadi added that due to the encouraging response from sports journalists, SAM aimed to explore more categories to be awarded to deserving journalists in years to come.
In the meantime, the best overall winner for the sports journalism category was won by TV3’s Al Shaiful Nazib Talib, who received the Siebel Award with a cash prize of RM7,000 and a trophy.
As a tribute to their contribution to the development of Malaysian sport, the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s former secretary-general, the late Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, and National Sports Council’s former director-general, the late Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong, were chosen as the posthumous recipients of the Special Award by SAM. – The Vibes, September 6, 2022
