IPOH, Sept 17 — Some people receive a car on their 21st birthday, but Johor high jumper Norshafiee Mohd Shah gave himself an even better gift — a Sukma gold medal.
On the day he turned 21, Norshafiee put on a sterling show to win his second successive gold medal in the men’s high jump.
He was buoyed by some raucous support from a handful of Johor fans at Stadium Perak, who even launched into a rendition of Happy Birthday after his last jump.
Norshafiee’s 2.06 m jump was enough to beat Sabah’s Mohamad Eizlan Dahalan (2.03 m) and Kedah’s Amer Haiqal Ismail (2.00 m), who won the silver and bronze medals respectively.
“It was a lucky day for me and it’s a great feeling to win my second gold in a row after the 2016 Sarawak games,” he said when met by reporters at Stadium Perak today.
“I’m not satisfied with my jump. I couldn’t reach 2.10 m because I was recovering from a torn leg ligament. However, it’s a great feeling to win gold in my last Sukma games.”
Another athlete who struck gold in her final Sukma games is Perak hero R. Kirthana, who dominated the proceedings in the women’s triple jump.
Kirthana notched up a best jump of 12.95 m, ahead of Johor’s Mahira Hanis Ishak (12.66 m) and fellow Perakian Nurul Ashikin Abas (12.48 m).
This was her second Sukma gold medal, after winning gold for the long jump in the Perlis 2014 games. She also won two silvers in the Sarawak games for the long jump and triple jump.
“This is my last Sukma games so I’m thrilled to bring home a gold for Perak.
“I’m not that happy with my jump. I suffered a slipped disc recently and was only able to resume training three months ago.
“But I’m also taking part in the long jump on the last day of the games, and I will do my best to win that gold as well.”
In the day’s other events, Johor won their second athletics gold of the day in the men’s shot put through Farm Loong Deng, who recorded a distance of 15.14 m
Meanwhile, Sarawak’s Queenie Ting Kung Ni did well to win her third Sukma gold medal in the women’s discus throw by recording a 43.77 m distance.
The day’s first event saw Negeri Sembilan’s S. Poovasanthan win the men’s 10,000 m who notched up a time of 33.50.62 minutes, ahead of Selangor’s S. Dinesh Varma and Perak’s S. Manihselvan.
Today’s last athletics final will be the women’s shot put, scheduled to start at 3.10pm.
