SEA Games champ Grace aims to win a medal for her late mother

KUALA LUMPUR: Grace Wong Xiu Mei was only 17 when she broke the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games record with a throw of 59.24m to win gold in the women’s hammer event last year.

Now the 18-year-old from Sarikei, Sarawak, hopes to make a memorable debut in the 18th Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu, Japan, from June 7-10.

Last year, she won silver in the 2nd Asian Youth Championships in Bangkok with an effort of 59.00m.

And last month, the Form Five student of Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) defended her gold in the National Schools Sports Council (MSSM) in Shah Alam with a throw of 56.50m.

Grace said that she has done well in competitions last year and she wants to continue winning medals for Malaysia in competitions.

“I’ll be competing against the top Asian athletes and I need to be in good form. I have been training in Kuching under coach Thomas Lee since last month.

“I want to make sure that I’m physically and mentally in good shape to win a medal in Japan,” said Grace.

“I need to throw more than 60 metres in the Asian Junior meet if I hope to finish on the podium.

“I also want to win a medal for my mother (Lina Awaru) of Papua New Guinea, who died last year,” said Grace.

“The meet in Japan will be my last meet this year as I want to focus on my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations in November,” said Grace, who won bronze in the 2015 Singapore SEA Games.

Grace skipped the Malaysian Open Championships, which started yesterday, to focus on training in Kuching.