Nor Azira proves her sifu wrong by winning silver for adopted state
WHEN one door shuts on you another will open.
And this was thee case for petite Nor Azira Kamarudzaman (pic), who was not selected by her wushu sifu Chai Chin Hin as she lacked the experience to compete in Malaysia Games (Sukma) for Melaka.
But the setback did not dishearten the 13-year-old, whose height is only 140cm and weighs just 31kg.
Instead she took it in her stride and made a memorable outing in the Games and also proved her sifu wrong by winning silver in the girls’ nanquan event for Kelantan.
The Form One student of SMK Tinggi Chinese in Melaka, was the 11th and last participant to perform and she mesmerised the crowd at the Perak Matriculation Centre in Gopeng to register an impressive score of 9.25 points to finish behind national athlete Tan Cheong Min of Melaka.
Cheong Min, who competed in the Asian Games in Jakarta last month, was just too good for other participants as she registered 9.58 points to win gold.
But newcomer Nor Azira stole the show in the Chinese dominated sport by proving to her sifu Chin Hin, who has 30 years of coaching experience, that she has the talent and skills to win a medal.
Nor Azira, who took up wushu at the age of five, said that nothing was going to stop her from competing in the Sukma.
“I was not sad when my sifu, who has been coaching me for the last six years did not include me in Sukma. I was considered lucky that Kelantan did not had enough wushu participants and I was included in East Coast state,” said Nor Azira.
“I felt a bit nervous as it was my first Sukma but I also wanted to prove to my sifu that I can perform well like the more experienced participants.
“I was the last participant to perform and I stayed cool and calm. I performed well and the crowd cheered me.
“I was delighted when the judges gave me an impressive score of 9.25 points to bag the silver,” said Nor Azira, who is eligible to compete in the next five Sukma.
She added that winning the silver has boosted her confidence of giving another good performance in the nangun event tomorrow.