Kuala Lumpur: Sabah’s para athlete Elissieball Jonal
(pic) is ready to leave her hometown and be away from her family to pursue the ambition of bringing honour to Malaysia as a national athlete.
The Malaysia Para Games 2022 (Para Sukma) women’s long jump T20 (intellectual impairment) champion said she has received an offer to join national training camp after the conclusion of Para Sukma 2024 in Sarawak this September.
The 20-year-old athlete from the interior area of Nabawan, Sabah, described the offer as a long-awaited call ahead of the Asean Para Games (APG) 2026, which will take place in Korat, Thailand in January 2026.
“I am very excited to train with the national squad there (Kuala Lumpur) because this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.
“In terms of mental and physical readiness, I am prepared ... also ready to go to the Peninsula and be away from my family,” said the third of seven siblings when contacted.
Apart from a chance to bring glory to Malaysia, Elissieball said she is also motivated to be a national athlete to ease the burden of her parents and improve their standard of living.
She wants to bid farewell to the Land Below the Wind in style by retaining the gold medal in the women’s long jump T20 at the Para Sukma 2024.
According to her, she recorded a personal best of 4.98 metres (m) this month, an improvement over the 4.84m she did to win gold at Para Sukma 2022, which is also better than the Para Sukma record of 4.91m.
Elissieball, who is said to possess great potential due to her natural strength and physical build, said she is aiming to hit 5m at this year’s Para Sukma, which is likely to be her last national games.
“I want to retain gold and hope to jump 5m in Sarawak, which will be a personal best,” said Elissieball, who is training with the Sabah para athletics squad.
The 4.98m recorded by Elissieball is not far off the record of 5.20m registered by national para athlete Siti Noor Radiah Ismail when she won bronze in women’s long jump T20 at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
At the Asian Para Games 2022, Sonomi Sakai of Japan set a championship record of 5.37m while the shortest jump of 4.99m in the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020 final was done by Irina Potekhina of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC).
