Up the Wall and to the Olympics
MUHAMMAD Taqiuddin Mohd Zulkifli or better known as Taq, who clocked 7.74 impressive seconds for Malaysia at Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games Speed-Climbing preliminaries.
Taq is in his final semester on the Diploma in Leisure Outdoor and Adventure Management programme at Management and Science University (MSU). He was interviewed earlier on his achievements.
How did you go into competitive climbing?
I was introduced to the sport in 2010 by a cousin. We were just trying it out for fun at the Shah Alam Extreme Park. A month into it I was still at it and started to think about getting serious. I like the fact that it’s an individual sport, so I don’t have to find a partner for practice. Two months from that fun start I won my first competition, finishing at 2nd place in the Novice category. What was your most memorable win? My most memorable one from the more than 50 championships I’ve been in is the Boulder competition in Cyberjaya end of last year, where I was the only Malaysian finalist.
How do you balance studying with practising?
Time management is important and I prioritise, but I give equal focus to both my studies and my sport. I make sure I finish up all my study assignments before I go out to practice.
How has MSU helped you excel in your sport?
Competitions take at least 3 to 4 months to prepare for. If there are small competitions coming up and I have to choose because of timetable clashes with exams and so on, I choose my studies. But for big competitions, I am always allowed to defer a semester. And my studies give me important practical knowledge of outdoor management, things that I wouldn’t get by practice alone. What could be in your future? I am interested in outdoor event management, which is a potential career goal and one of my reasons for taking on Leisure Outdoor and Adventure Management at MSU.
Godwilling, going on to the Bachelor in Outdoor Leisure and Adventure Management later, I look forward to the Global Internship Programme at MSU and experience how adventure parks are run elsewhere in the world particularly in Japan or Singapore.
What are your hopes for competitive climbing in the context of Malaysia?
At MSU we have the Adventure Club (Kelab Kembara) and also mobility programmes that give you global exposure. I hope we will have more of such facilities to grow competitive climbing’s potential for the country. I would really like to represent Malaysia in Wall Climbing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and go for Gold.