Durriyah wants first Sea Games medal

GOLFER Nur Durriyah Damian has been hitting the gym regularly to strengthen her muscles for next month’s Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.

She hopes the workout sessions will give her the power to swing and drive better in her attempt to win a medal in the biennial games for the first time.

Women’s golf will offer gold medals in the individual and team events on Aug 2226.

“Realistically, everyone can finish on the podium in golf,” said the 21-year-old, who is eager to make an impression in her fourth Sea Games outing, yesterday.

“I am very happy to have Loy Hee Yin and Ashley Lau as teammates as we will support each other.”

Durriyah, who is coached by Steven Giuliano, aims to become Malaysia’s first ever gold medallist in the women’s individual event. She also believes Malaysia can challenge for the team title.

Durriyah has been competing non-stop in international competitions to tighten her game ahead of the Sea Games. Her best result was capturing last year’s Thailand Ladies Amateur Open.

“I have been going to the gym to improve my fitness and also practising regularly on the Sea Games venue (Mines Resort Golf Club),” said Durriyah, who finished runner-up to LPGA golfer Kelly Tan in the Ladies Amateur Open on the same course.

The men’s team comprising Chan Tuck Soon, Ervin Chang and Galven Green are currently competing in the Singapore Amateur Championship, which ends tomorrow. They will then play in the Indonesia Amateur Championship on July 25-27.

The tournaments are part of the preparations for the Sea Games.

The trio are hoping to win the Sea Games team event for the third time following successes in 1989 (Kuala Lumpur) and 2011 (Jakarta).

Malaysia’s best ever performance in the individual event was silver achieved by Asian Tour professional Airil Rizman Zahari in 2011.