SINGAPORE, June 10 — National gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi danced her way into the hearts of the judges with an energetic performance to win the floor exercise gold medal on the final day of artistic gymnastics, here today.
Farah Ann, who had to be content with two bronze medals yesterday, was awarded 13.733 points for her routine to finish ahead of Indonesia’s Rifda Irfanalutfi who managed 13.700 points while Phan Thi Ha Thanh from Vietnam ended with the bronze medal on 13.433 points.
“All praise to god for being able to contribute a gold medal to the Malaysian contingent. After my performance, I was nervous and afraid to look at the score.
“But when the score was flashed, I was very happy because I had desperately wanted to win a gold medal for the country, my coach and team mates who have supported me,” said Farah Ann.
Apart from the gold in the floor exercise, Farah Ann also contributed a bronze medal in the balance beam after collecting 13.300 points in the event that was won by Vietnam’s Phan Thi Ha Thanh with 13.966 points while her team mate Do Thi Van Anh took the silver with 13.333 points.
In the men’s event, Jeremiah Loo ended a 14-year wait for a medal of any colour, after winning the silver medal in the Horizontal Bar with 14.133 points.
Vietnam’s Dinh Phuong Thanh took the gold with 14.233 points while Aizat Muhammad Jufrie from Singapore was awarded the bronze after collecting 12.833 points.
“This is my first SEA Games and glad that I was able to end the country’s medal drought in men’s artistic gymnastics. I hope this will be the beginning for a gold medal win in the future.
“My two months training in China was a big help,” said Loo.
Malaysia last won a medal in men’s artistic when Malaysia hosted the SEA Games in 2001.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian gymnastics artistic team ended their SEA Games campaign here with three gold, three silver and three bronze medals. — Bernama
