Kota Kinabalu: Not making the Sabah Sukma squad proved a blessing in disguise for Eidelweiss Franzel Fancey Sami as she bagged a historic gold medal for Sarawak in karate at the 21st Sukma Games in Miri on Sunday.
It was a bitter-sweet victory for the 18-year-old Sabah lass who was approached by Sarawak Sports Council three months earlier to represent the neighbouring state.
The success of winning Sarawak’s first ever Sukma gold medal in karate after a 24-year wait will also make her RM15,000 richer with the incentive promised by the Sarawak government.
She expressed her gratitude to Sarawak for giving her the opportunity to compete and also dedicating the success to the support of her family.
“I wasn’t Sabah’s first choice for this Sukma Games, as I was only the silver medallist at the Sabah Games (Saga) held last year.
“However, Sarawak offered me the opportunity to compete in the +68kg category where I was able to adjust my weight smoothly.
“I’m deeply grateful for the guidance of coach Javis Julian and MSNS (Sarawak Sports Council) for their confidence in me.
The three months of training here in Miri have significantly sharpened my skills and improved my performance.
“I would like to dedicate this victory to my family, with special recognition to my brother Evans who is one of my biggest inspirations.
“He is also a karateka who had actually won a kumite gold at last year’s Saga. Unfortunately he missed his opportunity and wasn’t selected to be part of the Sabah squad despite his achievement, otherwise we could have been here together,” she said on Tuesday.
Eldelweiss also managed to defeat Sabah’s Chin Xueyin in the semi-final before her triumph over her Terengganu opponent Mirza Amirah Syuhada Mohd Faizal for the gold medal in the final.
