Farah and Nur Shazrin share inspiring tales in webinar.
Rioflopa blessing for hardy Farah
PETALING JAYA: Missing out on the Rio 2016 Olympics was a blessing in disguise for national artistic gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi.
Although missing out on the Games was one of the darkest points in her career, the 26-yearold said it also drove her to be stronger than ever to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
After missing out on the Games in Brazil by a 0.1 margin during the test event in Rio de Janeiro four years ago, she admitted that she didn’t train at the gymnasium for two weeks due to that disappointment.
It was only after being comforted by family, friends, coaches and teammates that Farah decided that it was time to work harder. Three years later, she qualified for the Games in Tokyo.
Speaking at the Reaching for the Stars and Beyond webinar session organised by the National Sports Council (NSC) yesterday, she said she qualified for the Tokyo Games when she finished 59th out of 234 competitors in the individual all-around event at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
She made the cut by finishing 16th out of 20 gymnasts in the third qualifying criteria. Last year, she also won three gold medals (all-around, floor and uneven bar) in the Manila SEA Games.
“I guess the disappointment of Rio was needed, a kind of blessing in disguise. If I had qualified for the 2016 Games, I may not have trained as hard for Tokyo,” she said.
“After the test event, I was so down thinking about what actually happened, and I lost some motivation. I even thought about whether I should compete again or not.
“Then came the 2017 SEA Games, and I told myself that I should be stronger. I won the team and floor gold in that Games, and never looked back after that.
“As an athlete, besides training hard, you have to be passionate and have much love for the sport. I have trained since I was three, and I will never stop loving gymnastics.”
With no competition this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Farah said all of her training has been focused on the Olympics and she said during this uncertain time, target setting was important to succeed in life.
She admitted that the movement control order (MCO) period was also a demotivating period as the Olympics was postponed, but thanks to her loved ones, Farah was able to find her focus again.
“Right now, I am taking things one step at a time. I am now making sure I am fully fit for next year. Physically, I am strengthening myself and also focusing on recovery after that. This is to ensure that I do not injure myself.”