MALAYSIA’S TOP 10 STARS
Cyclist Azizulhasni heads cast of national athletes who shine in 2017
FABIAN PETER fabian.mark@nstp.com.my
AS we welcome the New Year, NSTP sport takes a look at 10 of the most outstanding Malaysian athletes in 2017 on the international stage.
AZIZULHASNI AWANG
(Cycling)
The 29-year-old Pocket Rocketman finally ended Malaysia’s wait for the elusive world title, when he bagged gold at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong in April.
Azizulhasni proved that Malaysia is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the blue ribbon event, winning the keirin world crown, which is also his pet event.
In the final, Azizulhasni, who has come close on several previous occasions, defeated Colombia’s Fabian Hernando Puerta Zapata and Czech Republic’s Babek Thomas for Malaysia’s first ever world title in an Olympic sport.
The 2016 Rio Olympic Games bronze medallist, for his effort, was also honoured as one of the three flag bearers at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games (KL2017).
Fittingly, at the 29th Sea Games, Azizulhasni clinched the 111th gold medal for Malaysia, matching the country’s best ever haul since the 2001 edition. Cycling also contributed a total of 13 gold medal at the Games.
CHEONG JUN HOONG
(Diving)
The Malaysian diving fraternity may have been hit with scandals and the letting go of head coach Yang Zhuliang, but take nothing away from Cheong Jun Hoong, who became the first Malaysian to win gold at the Aquatics World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in July.
The 27-year-old couldn’t believe it herself, when she saw off 2016 Rio Olympic Games gold and silver medal winners Ren Qian and Si Yajie to the women’s 10m platform gold.
Jun Hoong, ranked only No 7 at the start of the final, proved everyone wrong, when she chalked up a total of 397.50 points to win top prize ahead of national diving queen and teammate Pandelela Rinong, who could only manage ninth place.
Just like Azizulhasni, Jun Hoong was also given the honour to carry the Jalur Gemilang into the National Stadium as one of the flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Sea Games. She also helped contribute a gold for the Malaysian contingent by winning the women’s 1m springboard event.
MOHD AL-JUFFERI JAMARI
(Silat)
Another flag bearer at KL2017, and another outstanding Malaysian athlete who won his fourth consecutive Sea Games gold medal in August.
Competing in the men’s class E (65-70kg), the 2016 silat world champion beat Vietnam’s Pham Tuan Anh for his fourth Sea Games gold medal.
Al-Jufferi previously won gold at the 2011 Sea Games (Palembang), 2013 (Myanmar) and completed his hat-trick at the Singapore Games in 2015.
The 25-year-old, who tied the knot in December to former national youth exponent Nurul Farhana Abd Majid, now wants to win gold at the Asian Games in Jakarta next year.
SITI SAFIYAH AMIRAH ABDUL RAHMAN (Bowling) The national kegler, alongside teammate Sin Li Jane, created history when they became the first Malaysians to win on the United States’ Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour in June.
Siti Safiyah was the first to win a title there when she defeated Li Jane in the final to bag the Wichita Open.
Apart from bagging a few more tournaments, Siti Safiyah played a key role in helping the Malaysian contingent emerge overall winners at KL2017 when the squad won seven gold, four silver and three bronze medals.
Siti Safiyah went on to finish second in the AMF Bowling World Cup in November, her best ever finish at the event.
Her biggest achievement came when she finally helped the Malaysian women’s team win gold after 10 years at the World Championships in Las Vegas. Siti Safiyah also won a silver in the women’s all events.
Siti Safiyah’s achievements this year capped her as the best Asian women bowler, followed by Li Jane for a superb one-two finish for Malaysia on the Asian ranking.
SHALIN ZULKIFLI
(Bowling)
A seasoned campaigner who has not shown any signs of slowing down. At 39, Shalin continued to achieve milestones in her illustrious career, hitting the 20gold medal mark at KL2017.
Malaysia’s bowling queen captured three gold medals at the biennial Sea Games (trios, team and Masters) which contributed to the squad’s overall seven gold medal haul.
Shalin then finished third creditably at the World Tour in Reno, Nevada before travelling to Las Vegas, where she played a huge role in helping the Malaysian women’s team win their first gold medal in 10 years.
KHAIRUL HAFIZ JANTAN
(Athletics)
The 19-year-old runner can look forward to a superb year, after being crowned Southeast Asia sprint king at KL2017.
The 100m national record holder (10.18s) finally delivered Malaysia the gold medal, last won by Nazmizan Muhammad 14 years ago, when he clocked 10.38 seconds to come out tops at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
And to make things extra special for the young runner, he also smashed the 49-year-old 200m record of 20.92s set by the “Flying Doctor”, Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan at the 1968 Olympics, when he ran a blistering 20.90s at the Malaysian Open in July.
Khairul, seen as one of Malaysia’s greatest prospects in athletics, aims to shine at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in Jakarta next year.
Khairul can also qualify for the World Indoor Championships (WIC) in Birmingham, England next year, if he makes a good time at Asiad Closed Athletics Championships in Iran in February.
JULIAN YEE (Skating)
The 20-year-old figure skater, who won gold at KL2017, etched his name into the history books when he became the first Malaysian to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Julian, also the first Malaysian to skate in the ISU World Championships in 2016, now hopes to receive more recognition and funding for his efforts.
LEONG JUN HAO
(Badminton)
The 18-year-old shuttler could be Malaysia’s next best prospect in men’s singles after a superb 2017. Jun Hao rose to fame when he bagged the Asian Junior Championships crown in Jakarta, in July.
He went on to reach the final of the World Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, before losing in three games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Jun Hao also reach the final of the Malaysia International Challenge in November.
Jun Hao, who idolises former World No 1 Lee Chong Wei, wants to be in the same league as his hero, and already has big plans for next year, beginning with earning a spot in the Thomas Cup squad.
ZIYAD ZOLKEFLI
(Para athletics)
The 2016 Rio Paralympics gold medallist once again made the nation proud when he smashed his own world record at the World Para Athletics Championships in London in July.
A superb opening throw of 17.29m saw Ziyad better his previous mark of 16.84m set in Brazil, leaving his rivals with no chance of catching up in the men’s shot put (F20) event.
Ziyad also proved to be in a class of his own when he bagged the gold medal at the KL2017 Asean Para Games. Just a month earlier, Ziyad showed great spirit when he competed alongside able bodied athletes to finish third at the Sea Games.
WONG WENG SON
(Wushu)
Instead of feeling down after KL2017, Weng Son bounced back to win his maiden World Championship gold.
In August, Weng Son had to settle for the silver medal in the jianshu and qiangshu (spear) events, losing to teammate Yeap Wai Kin.
Weng Son, however, posted 9.64 points to clinch the World Championships gold ahead of South Korea’s Lee Ha Sung and Wai Kin, who came in second and third respectively.
The Malaysian wushu contingent also won gold in the women’s duilian (choreographed fight sets) in Kazan, Russia.