Jackie celebrates after winning the hammer throw during the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017 at National Stadium, Bukit Jalil. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: National hammer thrower Jackie Wong is in a buoyant mood and ready to return to action after recovering from Covid-19 infection.
The 28-year-old was discharged from the Sibu Hospital in Sarawak on Wednesday.
Jackie, who spent 73 days in the hospital, said he was mentally and physically stable throughout the duration of the treatment.
“I knew it would take me a while to recover and get back to my best. I believe I can rediscover the success of my sporting career, and look forward to having regular training at the MSN (National Sports Council) with my coach (Gu Yuan) and teammates
“I’ve never stopped training. I believe there are no side effects after recovering from Covid-19 and it will not affect my life
after this,” he said in a video posted on his Facebook page yesterday.
Jackie has broken the national record 17 times, and holds the current one with a throw of 68.22m.
Jackie was infected with the virus while visiting his father, Andrew Wong Ling Biu in Sarikei on March 11, as at the time, the Sarikei MP was believed to have contracted a lung infection.
Wong is still at the Sibu Hospital and is expected to be discharged next week.
“I admit this was a huge challenge for my family, as two of us were infected with the virus.
“I had to go through a period of isolation at the hospital, family members were not allowed to visit and I was also not allowed to visit family members during that time.
“All we could do was pray and reflect upon our religion,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jackie urged irresponsible individuals to stop making false accusations or spreading false rumours about him and his father, as it hurt the feelings of his family members.
Sharing a little about his daily routine at the hospital, Jackie said after breakfast he would usually spend time praying and reading the Bible, and then watch hammer throw videos of himself and other athletes.
“Sometimes I would watch a movie or read a book.
“After lunch, I would sleep for a while and in the afternoon train for two hours via a video call with my coach as he would be able to correct my technique.
“I would also like to remind the people of Malaysia to abide by the Conditional Movement Control Order, and together we can deal with this pandemic.
“For patients who are receiving treatment at the hospital, you have to be patient and follow the instructions of the hospital staff, always remaining positive,” he said.
He also thanked all frontline staff, especially the doctors and nurses who treated him at the Sibu Hospital, as well as the MSN, National Sports Institute and Malaysia Athletics Federation.
Jackie won the SEA Games bronze medal thrice from 2011 to 2015 before earning gold in the biennial competition in Malaysia in 2017.
He won silver in last year’s edition in the Philippines. — Bernama