Injured junior champion gears up for Sukma debut
SIBU: Junior shot put champion Jonah Chang Rigan was somewhat relieved when it was announced that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) Johor scheduled for July would be postponed to March next year.
The news came when he was also fighting against time to recover from a serious injury to defend his MSSM Inter-State title in the event.
The national schools meet, which was planned for April 11-16, was later called off following the Movement Control Order (MCO).
The 17-year-old had suffered a nasty fall in January.
He was cleaning the toilet of the church when he accidentally slipped from the plastic chair, fell and shattered a window glass.
A deep cut on his right hand required 29 stitches.
“It was a nightmare and I thought my career was as good as gone after the incident,” he told The Borneo Post.
During the MCO he was forced to rest although he did manage to do some light exercises and strength conditioning at home.
He revealed that he still felt a slight pain when he tried a few throws at the backyard of his house two weeks ago.
The Form Five student of SMK Bandar Sarikei, however, wants to forget the unfortunate incident and move on.
He has met with considerable success in all throwing events in the past three years.
He started as a javelin thrower at 14 before State throw coach Ling Neng Thung got him to focus more on the shot put.
“Perhaps, taking into consideration my height and my weight, it’s more appropriate for me to specialize in shot put event,” he recalled.
The powerfully built athlete, who now stands 173cm (5’8”) tall and weighs 106kg, has won a string of gold medals in the MSSM Under-15 shot put and discus.
Last year, he won the hammer (open) and Under-18 shot put, while finishing second in the discus.
He is also the reigning Southeast Asian junior and ASEAN schools champion in his favourite event with a personal best of 18.65m (61’2”) with the junior weighted ball.
But he is now set on making his Sukma debut with the heavier iron ball used in adult competition.
Standing in the way are two formidable opponents.
Johor’s Farm Loong Deng threw 15.14m (49’8”) to win the event at the 2018 Perak Sukma.
The 20-year-old, who has a personal best of 15.73m (51’7”), will be out to defend his title in front of his home crowd next March.
Sarawak state champion Kong Chin Poh finished fourth in the last Sukma.
But the 18-year-old has improved to a personal best of 15.69m (51’5.5”) in his quest to overthrow his Johor rival.
Jonah, who recorded a personal best of 15.15m (49’8.5”) in November last year, is unfazed.
“I am not going to feel intimidated. My only worry is my hand injuries and I hope to be fully fit by then,” he said.
It was a nightmare and I thought my career was as good as gone after the incident. Jonah Chang Rigan