INJURY FLOORS CHRISTINA

Skateboarder rushed to hospital after a bad fall

MALAYSIA’S Christina Lai Grace was rushed to hospital after sustaining injuries during a warm-up session before the final round of women’s park skateboarding at the Asian Games yesterday.

The 13-year-old medal prospect suffered hip injuries before the event began at the Jakabaring Sports City’s Skateboard Stadium.

The Australia-based Christina fell during training alongside five other contestants of the final round this morning.

The Kuala Lumpur-born was carried stretchered from the arena to a medical room for treatment before being taken away on an ambulance.

Deputy Chef-de-Mission Datuk Dr SS Cheema, who was seen checking on Christina before she was taken to the hospital, said the injuries were not serious but the full extent of the situation will only be known after an Xray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is done.

“It’s unfortunate that she fell before the event… she was in pain especially in the hip and below her spine. I checked, it doesn’t look too bad, I have asked them (the medics) to do an X-ray and MRI. “She is a high spirited athlete and although she cried, it wasn’t because of the pain but because she’s missing out on the finals.

“I told her she still has a lot of time in this sport, get the examinations done and come back and continue to fight for the sport with joy.”

National coach Johari Fitry Khairruddin, or better known as Joe Ipoh, hopes Christina will recover quickly to ensure her continued participation in the extreme sport.

“I didn’t really see from where I was seated in the crowd, that time she was executing the ‘fly’, maybe she fell. It’s disappointing but I hope she recovers quickly,” he said.

Skateboard is being contested for the first time at the Asian Games and will be introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.