KUALA LUMPUR – Fasting for a month during Ramadan brings its own sets of challenges, but for athletes who train day in and out of the water, the challenges differ slightly.
Ahead of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia from May 5 to 17, national diver Muhammad Syafiq Puteh has been training hard to defend his 3m springboard gold medal won at last year’s games in Vietnam.
Although fasting during the Ramadan month, the 27-year-old diver said there is an exception during intense training days.
“If it is a hard training day as we do for preparations before competitions, then I will take the risk of not fasting for the day.
“But usually after a hard day of training, I will resume my fast the following day,” he said at the National Sports Council (NSC) when met with reporters.
Jumping into the water on a regular basis, Syafiq said water is bound to enter the divers’ ears and mouth.
“There have been several instances that water enters my ears during the fasting month, but then I just deal with it by quickly getting it out. But I have not accidentally drank the pool water during my dives so that’s good,” said the diver from Perak.
For breaking his fast, Syafiq said nasi kandar is among his favourites along with an iced tea but has reduced his outing to the Ramadan bazaars as he sticks to his training diet.
He also reminisced about the times he would sell juices together with his family during the fasting month at a mosque in Ampang.
“I haven’t had the experience to work at a Ramadan bazaar stall, but last year we sold juices outside the mosque in Ampang. Unfortunately, I could not do it this year,” he said.
Syafiq is among the country’s hopefuls to bring back a medal from Phnom Penh for diving as this will be his fifth SEA Games appearance.
His first SEA Games gold medal came during the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur when he won in the mixed 3m springboard event together with teammate Jasmine Lai.
Syafiq will be using the remaining time until the Games to tweak mistakes made during the recent Malaysia Invitational Age Group Championship as the national diving team has targeted to collect three gold, three silver, and two bronze medals from Cambodia next month. – The Vibes, April 7, 2023
