KL2017 achievement the highlight
Published on: Monday, January 01, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: 2017 was a successful year for Sabah's national athletes especially with their achievement in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games (KL2017) where they contributed nine gold, two silver and six bronze medals.Hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian, who overcame years of frustration with injuries and lack of form in big stages, finally reclaimed his SEA Games 110m hurdles title after a 10-year lapse.In a strong field against highly rated opponents, he led from the start to cross the line first in 13.83 seconds to end the four-gold winning streak of Thailand's Jamras Rittidet, who had to settle for the silver.
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The 29-year-old had also in May, clocked 13.67s at a meet in Germany to rewrite 23-year-old Nur Herman Majid's national 110m hurdles record time of 13.73s set in 1994.However, Rayzam may have stolen the limelight but archer Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh was still the best Sabah athlete in the biennial games despite failing to repeat her three-gold feat two years ago in Singapore.The 26-year-old took two gold medals in the women compound team and mixed team events as well as one individual bronze to finish with three, which was better than any other State athlete representing the country, and on top of that, she also set a new national and SEA Games records with 696 points in the individual event during the qualifying rounds.The Games also saw the emergence of new talents such as divers Jellson Jabilin and Gabriel Gilbert Daim.
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Jellson in his debut outing took the top prize in the mix synchronised 10m with Leong Mun Yee followed by the Men's synchronised 10m platform with Hanis Nazirul while Gabriel Gilbert Daim won gold in the Mix Team diving event with Olympian Pandelela Rinong.Other gold contributors were archer Lee Kin Lip in the men's Team Compound, women hockey players Juliani Mohd Din and Surizan Awang Noh, Lai Wen Li in the women squash team event.
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Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan praised the State athletes for their contribution to the country's total medal tally and promised his Ministry through the Sabah Sports Council will provide monetary incentives to all the medal winners.On the local front, Keningau emerged overall champions of the 8th Sabah Games (Saga VIII) held in Sandakan.The interior team led from day one to end the Games with 31 gold, 26 silver and 19 bronze medals to edge hosts Sandakan who accumulated 24 gold, 19 silver, 21 bronze medals while Kota Kinabalu with 22 gold, 16 silver and 31 bronze medals finished in third place.In combat sports, Sabah junior Muaythai exponents continue to shine at the international stage by contributing two golds and a silver for the country in the Jincheon 1st World Youth Martial Arts Mastership in Korea in November .The golds were won by Riedzwan Norsyahmie Daud in the boys 48kg and Kallens Barthez Jafili in the boys 57kg while the silver came from Kenny Jafili in the boys 67kg.Earlier in August, Daniel Fiedieans Maideh who was the National Youth Champion in his age group created history when he won gold at the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) Youth World Championship held at the national stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.The 12-year-old SK Tanjung Batu Keramat, Tawau student defeated his Uzbekistan opponent with an unanimous decision in the 42kg (12-13-years-old) category.The year also saw Ann Osman, Malaysia's MMA queen from Tuaran announcing her retirement from the sport with a 5-4 professional record over a four-year period.In football, Jelius Ating proved that locals can be as good as if not better than foreigners if given the opportunity as he saved the Sabah Football Association (Safa) management's blushes after he guided a raw Sabah Rhinos outfit to a credible seventh place at the end of the season.The former skipper was handpicked by Safa President Tan Sri Musa Aman to take over the hot seat after the team's disastrous start under French men Adlane Messelem and Steve Vilmiairek.Their methods of running the team also received the wrath from former Cup winner coach Kelly Tham and player Bobby Chua. They were then languishing second from bottom in the table standing with mere a four points, and against the odds, Jelius with Datuk Juil Nuatin as the new team manager and Burhan Ajui as his assistant managed to win 26 points from the remaining matches.The top cash prize earner title again went to golfer Nicholas Fung who claimed his maiden Asian Tour victory after winning the US$500,000 (RM2.14mil) Queen's Cup in Koh Samui, Thailand, where he walked away with US$90,000 (RM385,000) winner's purse.Former number one Ben Leong also did well to win his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship, and both Nicholas and he finished second and third in the Malaysian Professional Golfers Ranking table.Young Christopher James was the top amateur player for the year by winning four titles including Enagic Junior Championship Malaysian Qualifing 2018 which allowed him to play at Enagic Junior Championship Asia Qualifying in Okinawa,Japan in April 2018.Meanwhile, Sabah Golf Association also won the SGA Cup for a record 11th time, beating Sarawak 21-15 at the Sabah Golf and Country Club in November.Tennis player Christian Didier Chin took a giant step to fulfilling his dream of winning a Grand Slam title with a preseason scholarship awarded by the prestigious Johan Kriek Tennis Academy (JKTA) in West Palm Beach Florida in November.The 17-year-old caught the attention of former world number seven and two times Australian Open champion Johan Kriek, one of the sports' greats in the eighties following his massive jump in the ITF ranking from 336 to 77 within a year. Apart from the success of Wen Li for squash in the SEA Games, Jessica Keng also proved her mettle by capturing the girls Under-15 title in the 24th Asian Junior Individual Championship held in Jordan while Yee Xing Ying and Duncan Lee also reigned supreme in the girls and boys Under-15 categories respectively at the Malaysia Junior Open in Penang.Duncan had at the beginning of the year finished runner-up in the boys Under-15 category in the 22nd British Junior Squash open held in Sheffield, England while Jessica Keng finished in fourth place in the girls Under-15.In cycling, three Sabahans emerged as overall champions after the final leg of the 2017 Asia Mountain Bike series in Kuching, Sarawak in November with Natahsya Soon taking the overall title in the Women Elite Individual Downhill. Former Sukma champion Jr Stanly Jalip took the Men Master Individual Downhill title while Sharin Amir triumph in the Men Master Cross Country Olympic .The three had also been crowned Malaysian National Champions three months earlier. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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