A proud moment (AUGUST 19 - 30)
Izzah and Co’s golden feats bring Russian coaches to tears ... of joy
RHYTHMIC gymnast Izzah Amzan can’t believe she made her coaches cry.
“I made my coaches cry for the first time – in a good way,” laughed the adorable 16-year-old Izzah.
“Usually, we’d be crying after a hard day’s training. Today, it’s our coaches who are shedding tears ... of joy.”
It was indeed a proud moment for the two long-serving Russian coaches – Youlia Ivanova and Lidia Legotina – as they watched their gymnasts dominate the proceedings yesterday.
Izzah, their youngest gymnast, won one of the four golds for Malaysia on the final day of the rhythmic competition at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MiTEC).
It was a 1-2 finish for Malaysia in all the four apparatus.
Seniors Koi Sie Yan bagged two golds in hoop and clubss while Amy Kwan Dict Weng g pocketed one gold in ribbon.
With that, the team of Izzah,ah Sie Yan, Amy and reserve Chong Long Yi ended their campaign with a total of six golds.
They also won the team gold on Saturday and Sie Yan defended the individual all-around on Monday to make it four for herself.
Yesterday, Izzah put up a delightful performance to win her first individual gold in the ball apparatus with an impressive score of 15.600 points.
“I’ve been training since I was five years old. I’m grateful to all the coaches,” said Izzah, who also won the clubs silver yesterday.
“This is just the beginning oof greater things to come from mme. I’m looking forward to the CommCommonwealth Games next.” Top performer Sie Yan, 18, was happy to wrap up her SEA Games outing with a medal in every event. Yesterday, she did well in her pet event – hoop – to earn 16.000 points before doing even better in clubs to win with 16.550 points.
“I’m tired,” said Sie Yan.
“But it’s been worth it. I have a medal in every event in my second SEA Games outing. We have proven ourselves in the South-East Asian region.
“Now, I want to make my debut in the Commonwealth Games.”
It was also a special day for the 22-year-old Amy, who won the country's 100th gold by twirling her way to victory in the ribbon with a high score of 15.750.
“I’m happy to win my first individual gold. At my age, I’m not sure whether I’ll be still around for the next Games but I’ll train hard until my body can’t take it any more,” said Amy, who was a member of the team who won the bronze at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
“We have a good team. Our next goal is to win our first gold at the Commonwealth Games (in Gold Coast, Australia) next year,” said Amy.