Norashikin stands head above the rest with gold
PORT KLANG: From the moment Norashikin Kamalzaman was born, her father could see that she would be standing taller than most of her peers.
A member of the netball team that took the gold medal in the SEA Games 2017, the 186cm-tall Norashikin scored over 180 points throughout the competition.
“When she was born, we could see from her bone structure that she would have long fingers, hands and legs.
“My family has always been very tall. She is the tallest among three sisters but still shorter than two of her brothers,” said 54-year-old Kamalzaman Yusoff, who himself stands at 197cm.
The fourth child of six siblings, the 23-year-old was a key component for the national squad as the starting goal shooter.
However, while it is obvious where Norashikin got her height from, Norzalina Ibrahim, 52, said her daughter decided to follow in her footsteps in taking up the sport.
“We have been encouraging her to take up netball since kindergarten but she really made us proud to have come this far and lead Malaysia to a gold medal in front of her countrymen at home.
“And to do it several days before independence, there is no better way to bring Merdeka joy to the nation,” said Norzalina.
It was while playing for SK Kuala Rompin, Pahang, in Year 5 that Norashikin’s talent really bloomed and she would go on to play at the district, state and national youth levels before joining the Bukit Jalil Sports School.
Kamalzaman said his daughter, who is pursuing a multimedia degree in Universiti Putra Malaysia, had to pay a great price, putting her studies on hold for a year to focus and prepare for the SEA Games.
“She wanted to give her full commitment to winning the gold for the country and it has paid off,” he said.
For Norashikin, however, things have not always been this easy because there were times when failure had brought her down, making her want to give up the sport.
“I felt that I could not go any further in netball but my parents were always encouraging me and thankfully, I have come this far with the team,” she said.
Despite the team’s success, it is the Malaysian support that Norashikin is crediting for the victory.
“The pressure was very high on us as we were the home team and our aim was to win back the gold that we lost to Singapore in the last Games.
“With the sacrifices that we have made, thankfully we won. But of course, the reason for our success is due to the strong support of the Malaysians who were constantly there at the stadium to cheer us on.”