Sarawak contingent lead medal tally on Day 1
MASTER CLASS: Sarawak’s Grace Wong pause before launching the discus on Day 2 of the 58th MSSM national schools track & field championships at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu yesterday. She threw a personal best of 40.73m to win her second gold medal of the meet. Wong Xiao Jing, also from Sarawak, picked up the silver (35.19m) while Negri Sembilan’s Choo Jia Yi was third (32.45m) in the U-18 event. Grace won her first gold a day earlier after throwing 52.70m in the hammer to break her own record of 50.74m. The 16-year-old, who first represented Sarawak when she was in Primary Four in 2010, is eyeing a third gold in the shot put at the five-day championships. — Photos courtesy of Christopher Tinkai
Audray MacShaquille.
Lim How Sieng (left) and Yong Shie Liang.
Avriliena Vanafe.
KUCHING: Two seasoned campaigners and two rookies in the Sarawak team rose to the occasion on Day 1 of the 58th MSSM national schools track & field championships at Sultan Mizam Stadium, Terengganu on Tuesday.
They broke two records and won four gold medals as Sarawak jumped ahead of the other 12 states and three federal territories in the medal tally.
A day earlier, Terengganu education director Datuk Shafruddin Ali Hussin told reporters after the opening ceremony that their athletes were confident of winning a total of 18 gold medals to end Sarawak’s 6-year run as overall champions.
The defending champion’s first response was to win the first event of the five-day meet with a new record.
In the boy’s U-15 discus, Lim How Sieng threw 54.49m to improve on the old record by 9cm.
Teammate Yong Shie Liang made it a 1-2 by taking the silver with his 52.69m.
Both registered their personal best distances.
How Sieng, who is from Miri’s SM Riam Road, was fourth in the same event last year.
Pethius Jadam contributed Sarawak’s second gold by winning the boy’s U-15 javelin with a distance of 50.89m.
The newcomer to the state team, who studies at Song’s SMK Katibas, edged out the Sabah duo of Randi Yantalu and Ahmad Radzif who threw 49.73 and 49.52m respectively.
Sarawak have no firm gold medal prospect in the sprints this year.
But contingent officials and coaches were handed a big bonus in the first of the six 100m finals.
Audray MacShaquille, who is from SK Melaban in Lubok Antu, showed nerves of steel to win a thrilling boy’s U-12 final in a time of 12.37sec.
He pipped Terengganu’s Muhd Sahriey (12.38) and Pahang’s Mohd Idham (12.40) in a photo-finish.
It was left to Grace Wong to put the icing on the cake.
The 2015 SEA Games bronze medallist blew the competition away in the girl’s open hammer event.
The 16-year-old Sarikei-born, now studying in Bukit Jalil Sports School, broke her own record of 50.74m with a new distance of 52.70.
Nurul Hidayah (46.22m) of Selangor and Nur Aqilah (45.20m) of Perak were the silver and bronze medallist.
Four bronzes were contributed all by girls – Avriliena Vanafe in the U-12 100m (13.64sec), Nurhaziqah Izzati in U-15 100m (12.73sec), Chung Woon Shyen in U-15 shot put (12.11m) and Liew See Yee in U-18 triple jump (11.17m).
At the end of Day 1 (Tuesday), Sarawak topped the medal tally with four gold, one silver and four bronze medals ahead of Terengganu (2-3-0) and Pahang (2-2-1).