Abigail displays her medal and the Jalur Gemilang after the prize presentation on Thursday.
KUCHING: National puller Abigail Kee Zen Ning pulled her way into the Malaysian armwrestling history when she bagged two silver medals at the International Federation of Armwrestling (IFA) World Armwrestling Championship in Rumia, Poland.
In the final of the Female Sub-Junior Left Hand category on Thursday, 15-year old Abigail from Kuching lost to Sunnea Stromberg from Sweden.
The Batu Lintang student collected her second silver after also losing to Sunnea in the Female Sub-Junior Right Hand final yesterday.
It was an historic achievement as Abigail is not only the first female puller from Sarawak and Malaysia but only the first from South-East Asia to win medals at the world championship.
Overjoyed with her achievement at an international competition, Abigail said all her hard work and sacrifices had paid off well.
“Although it was quite tough, I am very happy with my achievement at the international level event,” she said in a WhatsApp interview.
Abigail is very grateful to the Sarawak State Sports Council and all parties involved for the morale and financial support all this while.
She is also very appreciative of her coach Goh Thian Weai who had pushed her to international success.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Armwrestling Federation (MyArm) president Mohd Zil Fadli, who also went to the championship as the head referee, regarded Abigail’s achievement as a historic one.
“This is the first time a Malaysian puller has won a medal at a world competition and that will surely bring honour and glory to the country.
“I hope that with this success, the government will continue to give more support to promote and uplift armwrestling and help us produce world champions,” he added.
Abigail’s father Stephen said with the proper training and the support from the parents, any athlete can succeed in sports.
“I was only worried about her wrist injury sustained during the Premier 101 International Charity Armwrestling Championship this year.
“We hope all the best will turn out for her,” said Stephen who extended his gratitude to all those who have supported Abigail especially Premier 101 Armwrestling Club Dato Sri Teng Chi Lik.
Apart from Abigail, two other Malaysians also won medals on Thursday.
They were Safuan Asit who took bronze in the Male Senior 57kg Left Hand and Joffey Jolly who finished third in the Male Senior 70kg Left Hand.