MGF drop Siti from Kita Juara programme after a dip in form

SEA Games artistic gymnastics gold medallist Siti Nur Bahirah has been dropped from the Kita Juara programme.

That leaves just five gymnasts in the programme. They are Tracie Ang, Farah Ann Hadi, Nur Eli Azmi, Tan Ing Yueh and Rachel Yeah Li Wen.

With Siti dropped, those in the back-up squad can now vie for the vacant spot.

Siti has not been up to the mark in recent competitions despite being a member of the Singapore SEA Games gold medal-winning team with Farah, Tracie Ang, Lavinia Raymund and Nur Eli.

But then, Siti, can still regain her spot in the Kita Juara programme as she has been relegated to the back-up squad. All she has to do is prove herself again and she could get back into the programme.

The others in the back-up squad are Esmelda Geling, Raymund Jayadev siblings – Natasha Iliana and Lavinia and Nur Azira Aziri.

Malaysian Gymnastics Federation (MGF) deputy president Kau Git Kaur said that they have trimmed the squad, by dropping Siti, for the second phase of training for the KL SEA Games.

“We have to start our preparations early because it takes time to learn new routines. We cannot bring in new faces at a later stage and expect them to win big at the KL Games,” said Git Kaur , who added that Esmelda was the latest edition to the back-up squad.

Esmelda has been offered a chance to train in Kuala Lumpur following her two golds, one silver and one bronze medal feat at the Sukma in Sarawak.

She will only join the team after her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations in November.

“She is one of our promising gymnasts based on her good showing in the Sukma, but she will finish her examinations first before joining us. We will assess her form again later this year,” he said.

Esmelda was offered a place in the national team in 2014 following impressive performances in junior tournaments, but she felt that she wasn’t ready to come over to Kuala Lumpur for centralised training then.

She also suffered a major knee ligament injury after the 2014 Asean Schools Games. The injury ruled her out of action for about 18 months, until her successful return at the Sukma.