PETALING JAYA, Oct 26 — The country’s young athlete, Jonah Chang Rigan, who broke the national shot put record at the recent 2023 Asian Throwing Championships, is determined to become the first Malaysian athlete to clear 20 metres (m).
Despite being aware that it is no easy feat, the 20-year-old sports star said the achievement of rewriting the 12-year-old national record at the tournament in Mokpo, South Korea has fuelled his desire to continue to achieve success on the international stage.
“I will make sure of setting the best record (20m record) in the next six years,” said the Sarawak-born champion, when met at the Sponsorship Agreement ceremony between the Malaysia Athletics Federation and Cahya Mata Sarawak here, yesterday.
For the record, Jonah managed to erase the 12-year-old national record after recording a throw of 17.67m despite finishing the tournament in the fifth position.
The event’s gold medal was won by China’s Zhang Haochen with a record of 19.21m, while the silver went to Jason Atuobeng (18.56m) of Japan and Ivan Ivanov from Kazakhstan won the bronze (18.29m).
In the meantime, Jonah is determined to break the record at the 2024 Malaysian Games (Sukma) in Sarawak, thus defending the championship he won at the Kuala Lumpur edition last year, with a record of 16.65m.
“At the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, I want to win my first medal at the Games because in Cambodia, I was only in fourth place... it doesn’t matter if I get a gold, silver or bronze medal,” he said. — Bernama
