Amy to rock sportscomedy challenge
The singer is among 20 celebrities competing in a new show, writes Dennis Chua
ROCKER Suhaimi Abdul Rahman a.k.a. Amy of Search loves to keep fit, not just for the sake of his music performances, but also to expand his universe through friendships. This is why he is headlining Astro Warna’s (Channel 132) and Warna HD’s (124) latest show,
Touted as the first of its kind, the show will see 20 artistes competing against an equal number of household names in Malaysian sports. These fun games, monitored by professional judges, include 7X7 badminton (seven players per team), virtual reality box football, three-wheeled cycling, pushball, and 400m reverse running.
“I’m the most senior of the entertainers’ team Kembang Semangkuk (Expanding Bowl),” said Amy at the show’s launch in Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, IOI Resort City, Sepang recently. “The games are lots of fun and while we must be competitive, it’s more like friendly matches than anything else.”
Amy, 59, enjoys outdoor sports; in August and September last year, he visited Sabah with friends, where they climbed Mount Kinabalu, and went skydiving as well as scuba-diving.
“Of the games, my favourites were pushball, reverse running and badminton. My teammates were mostly comedians, we joked and laughed a lot, and so did our challengers.”
Amy’s only regret is the lack of rockers in his team. “Perhaps they weren’t free during shooting two months ago. Hopefully, we’ll get to see them next year.” Amy hopes Astro will make an annual affair, because it would be great to see entertainers become sportsmen, and
Amy (left) in the 400m race.
vice-versa.
“This show introduced me to Datuk Malek Nor, Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi and Roslin Hashim. I’m happy that entertainers and sportsmen got along great.”
SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
The show airs on Fridays, beginning tonight at 10pm, and is also available on Astro Go and On Demand.
The eight-episode sports-comedy has the sportsmen compete as a team called Cendawan Gagah (Brave Mushroom) against Kembang Semangkuk.
Supported by Astro Arena, the show was filmed in the Panasonic Sports Complex, Shah Alam, and is co-hosted by body-builder Malek and comedian Abam.
The sportsmen include Mirnawan (former national hockey captain), Keifli Othman (Formula Asia winner), Hafiz and Roslin Hashim (badminton champions), Watson Nyambek (sprinter), Azman Adnan (footballer), Niena Azman (national goalkeeper) and cyclist Azizulhasni Awang.
The entertainers include Achey, Joey, Shuib, Dzawin, Sharifah Shahirah, Zero and Jiggy.
There’ll be guest appearances by Mohd Redha Rozlan winner), Zulfahmi Kamaruddin (FIM Superbike World Championship 2016 runner-up), sailor Khairulnizam Afendy and comedian Amirullah Azmi.
Astro Malay Entertainment head Raqim Ahmad said the programme was a first for the TV station, which combines sports and entertainment, as well as sports and entertainment personalities. He said it’s aimed at fostering good ties between entertainers and sportsmen, and to celebrate SEA Games 2017.