High schooler wins Sabah’s first-ever Sukma medal in track cycling
KOTA KINABALU: A podium finish at the Velodrome Rakyat put Sabah in the history books as state athletes scurried for medals in the Malaysia Games’ (Sukma) penultimate day yesterday.
Three gold medals which came from the silat events in Kuala Kangsar and one from boxing in the southwestern town of Bagan Datuk meant it was another fruitful day for the state contingent, but it was the bronze medal from track cycling in Ipoh that put Sabah in the books after a glorious performance from Waldron Chee in the men’s individual pursuit.
It was the first time Sabah has taken part in Sukma’s track cycling events and the Form Four student from Kian Kok Middle School got the honours to pen history.
“This was the first time Sabah sent a track cycling team with a bunch of school boys who are in the first Sukma of their lives.
“And the performance that 16year-old Waldron Chee put forth versus a 21-year-old professional rider with Team Sapura Pro Continental was phenomenal,” said state coach Louis Pang.
Waldron clocked 4:55.753s to edge Muhsin Redha Misbah from Selangor (4:57.910s) in what turned out to be an emotional battle for bronze.
Wan Abdul Rahman Hamdan (4:44.215s) won the gold for Terengganu, while Johor’s Eiman Firdaus Mohd Zamri (4:51.730s) settled for silver.
Waldron will see action in another event today with fellow Sabahan riders Lim Chun Kiat, Bong Yong Xian and Darren Chong. They are competing for another bronze medal in the team pursuit.
Earlier, Sabah won bronze in the men’s downhill and women’s cross country, while a solitary gold from Mohd Faizikry Jumah in the men’s cross country added glitter to the cycling team’s overall achievement.
“Special thanks to the Sabah Sports Council for putting their faith in us and investing into track cycling.
“Also big thanks to UMS’ Faculty of Psychology and Education under the leadership of Dr Dayang Maryama, who provided top notch sports science support. Their insight helps us to train smart,” said Pang.
Meanwhile, the archery squad bagged a silver medal from the compound men’s team event at Universiti Teknology Petronas in Seri Iskandar.
Eugenius Lo Foh Soon, Mecedger Sage Edie, Chin Shi Yi appeared in the final but lost 230234 to Penang’s Khambeswaran Mohanaraja, Muhamad Faris Jamaludin and Syed Imran Syed Ibrahim.
En route to the final, Sabah beat Sarawak (Chio Chung Yin, Ngu Gao Teck, Ting Kee Wei) 230-226, while Penang beat Terengganu (Mohamad Syafiq Ariffin, Muhamad Aliff Haikal Biamin, Muhamad Hazmi Aisar Azmi) 228-226 in the other semi-final match.
Terengganu won the bronze after beating Sarawak, 229-227 in the classification match.
Four gold medals from Eugenius earlier in the week meant Sabah concluded as the third best contingent behind Pahang (five gold, two bronze) and Perak (four gold, three silver, one bronze).
Eugenius, who also won two silver medals, is a likely candidate for the Best Sportsman Award although this could not be confirmed at press time yesterday.
In swimming, Janetty John Fabian narrowly missed out on a medal finish in the women’s 100m backstroke final. She was fourth behind Selangor’s Rosaling Pang, while Neesa Yip Yi Wen (also from Selangor) won the gold and Goh Chia Tong from Melaka took silver.