16-year-old javelin ace set Sukma target
SIBU: Despite the disruption in training due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) since March and the current Conditional MCO, javelin thrower Ng Jing Xuan is determined to reach new frontiers in the months ahead.
The 16-year-old student at Miri’s SMK Chung Hua is earning a reputation as the feared ‘spear girl’, a welcome addition to Sarawak’s women throwing duo of Grace Wong (hammer) and Queenie Ting (discus).
Jing Xuan’s next big assignment is to help Sarawak defend the javelin title lifted by Wong Nie Nie in the 2018 Perak Sukma.
“Despite the uncertainties ahead, one thing is for sure and I promise to work hard and will try my best to defend the title,” she said.
The tall and powerful Form Four student (standing 173cm or 5’8” tall and weighing 68kg) was initially a state youth volleyball player before coach Chang Siang Cheng roped her into the athletics squad when she was 13-year-old.
A year later she finished fifth in the Perak Sukma throwing the adult’s 600g implement to a distance of 37.63m as a 14-yearold debutant.
But she has been hogging the limelight throwing the 500g junior javelin to a series of record-breaking exploits in schools competitions.
She won her first gold medal at the MSSM National Schools Championships, breaking the Under-15 record in 2018.
The Miri lass then made her international junior debut representing Malaysia at the triangular meet against junior athletes from Western Australia and Singapore. Again she erased the 28-year-old meet record for her age-group.
Last year, she successfully defended her MSSM Under15 title with a new distance of 42.68m (140’), smashing her own record by over 5m and beating her nearest competitor by nearly 10m.
Her personal best with the 600g javelin is 40.39m (132’ 6”) which she recorded at the 2019 Sibu Open.
Jing Xuan was actually shaping up for this year’s MSSM Championships scheduled for April when the MCO and Covid19 health crisis halted her regular training.
Unable to train in the field she was restricted to strength and conditioning workouts at home.
Athletes nation-wide are facing the gloomy prospect of no major championship for the entire 2020 calendar.
Jing Xuan, however, is eagerly looking forward to pick up her spear and hopefully to compete in the 2020 Sibu Open planned for September.
“We are still about three months away and, hopefully, the health crisis will improve by then so that we can take part in the competition safely,” she said.