Muhd Firdaus Chua brothers a hit in wushu – for different teams

THE Muhd Firdaus Chua brothers – Mohamad Afiq Danial (pic) and Muhammad Danish Aizad – are Penang-born wushu exponents but they represented different states at the Malaysia Games (Sukma).

The 16-year-old Afiq, who failed to find a place in the Penang squad because of his back and right knee injuries, represented Terengganu and did well to win bronze in the jianshu event by chalking up 9.38 points at the Perak Matriculation Centre in Gopeng yesterday.

The 14-year-old Danish, who bagged the gunshu gold in the Under- 15 World Junior Championships in Brazil in July, won silver in same event by amassing 9.45 points.

It was a proud moment for their parents – Mohd Firdaus, a Chinese, who converted after getting married to Zanariah Dahlan.

The brothers took up wushu because their dad loves the sport.

Afiq said many people were puzzled as why the two brothers were representing different states.

“I was dropped from the Penang squad as I did not perform well during training but I was lucky that Terengganu gave me a chance to represent them.

“I am delighted that I did well in my first Sukma to deliver a bronze medal for Terengganu.

“I am quite pleased with my performance in the jianshu event as it will motivate me to do much better in the changquan event tomorrow,” said Afiq, who was proud of his younger brother Danish, who defied the odds to win silver in the gunshu event.

Danish, who is a Form Two student of SMK Permatang Rawa, said that he was surprised to win silver as this is his first Sukma.

“It feels nice to win a medal in Sukma as I am only 14 and I beat the more experienced exponents to finish on the podium.

“I must thank my dad for introducing wushu to me when I was only five years old,” said Danish, who won’t be able to compete in changquan together with his brother today as he is skipping the event to recover from injuries to both his knees.