This ‘Baby’ is in her element at sea

PETALING JAYA: For pint-sized Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif, her journey in sailing has not been, well ... smooth sailing.

When she first took up the laser radial category at the age of 17, the girl from Pahang was considered too puny and was told to put on weight. She stood at 50kg at the time.

A year later, at the age of 18, she had only gained one kilo and she thought she would not be able to compete against her bigger opponents.

However, during the 2015 SEA Games, her coach Mohd Afendy Abdullah just told her to “enjoy” the race. Enjoy she did – by winning two golds, the Laser radial and Team racing laser radial, in Singapore.

Since then, she has not looked back, and the 22-year-old has qualified for two Olympics, including Tokyo 2020, which has been postponed to July next year.

Shazrin said it was her mission to show the world that small-sized women can compete against physically bigger opponents.

“When I was asked to join the laser radial, I was told to put on weight. I ate a lot but did not gain any weight and for me, that was tremendous pressure,” she said during Reaching for the Stars and Beyond webinar session organised by the National Sports Council (NSC) yesterday.

“The reason I needed to put on weight was because I had to face bigger opponents, and also have strength for sailing. However, I decided to spend more time in the gym and not have any fear when at sea.

“I have competed in the Rio 2016 Games, and now I am headed for Tokyo. For me, because of my size, I have to work harder but I do not mind it at all. I do not want people to underestimate our sailors, and we must make sure that we are feared in the world of sailing.”

Nur Shazrin booked her Olympic berth for Laser radial (dinghy) after winning bronze in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Nur Shazrin finished 33rd in her category.

With no competition this year, she said training was going on as usual as coaches are guiding her on best ways to deal with boat handling and sailing skills.

“I am still in the mood to prove others wrong. In my team, I am called ‘baby’ because of my age and size. However, when I am out at sea, I just want to be at my best.

“In sailing, we usually look at the wind and cloud conditions. Sometimes when conditions are unfavourable, you tend to think it will be risky.

“You would think the huge waves may capsize your boat. However, when you’re racing at sea, you forget all that and get into your element.

“After the race, though, I often think: ‘how did I do it?’ Then I have thoughts about the waves and other things, but when I am at sea, it is just focus.”

Nur Shazrin admitted that some people have questioned her career choice as extreme sports are usually linked to men, but she said this was a flawed perception and women like her are changing that.

“If you do not try, you do not know. Sports gives you confidence. It shouldn’t segregate, it should unite all of us. It is a form of empowerment.

“We are changing the narrative. Not everything must be done by men. Women can do anything, too.”