KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — National waterskiing sensation Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is ready to make a splash at her 11th appearance in the Moomba Masters in Yarra River, Australia from today until March 11.
Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation in a statement said, Aaliyah would not be alone as she will be accompanied by her younger brothers Aiden Yoong Hanifah and Adam Yoong Hanifah who are also invited to compete in the prestigious competition.
“Aaliyah is down to compete in all three events, tricks, slalom and jump, and it would certainly be ideal for her to build on her success from the World Under-21 Championships where she took bronze in the jump.
“The 18-year-old Aiden and 16-year-old Adam will both participate in the junior boys’ tricks event,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Aaliyah said she is set to reach the final for tricks and jump events to continue skiing on Moomba Monday which is the climax day of the Moomba Festival as huge crowds throng the venue.
The bronze medallists in the 2022 edition of the Moomba Masters for jump event however said it will be difficult for her to reach the target as she had not trained properly ahead of the competition.
“It’s always exciting for me to have the Moomba on my calendar to open up my waterskiing season for the year, the Yarra river is very much a real challenge and the crowd is also electrifying.
“Of course I would love to be on the podium for overall winner if possible as well but I’m also realistic as I had important exams at university the last few months and I haven’t had the luxury of training six days a week to build-up properly,” Aaliyah said.
For the record Aaliyah had claimed a bronze in the tricks at the Moomba Masters open category in March 2022 as she posted a total of 7,050 points behind Canada’s Neilly Ross (10,390) and American Erika Lang (10,260). — Bernama
