SLOGAN OF 'SABAH BOLEH' ECHOES IN BUKIT JALIL

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Armed with a soaring spirit to succeed, Sabah stylishly bagged nine of the 30 gold medals contested on the first day of track and field events in the 2022 Malaysia Para Games (Para Sukma) today.

At the National Sports Council Mini Stadium in Bukit Jalil, the slogan 'Sabah Boleh' was the driving force behind the success of the ‘Land Below the Wind’, which reaped five golds in field events and four from the track, surpassing the target of seven golds set for Day One, as well as breaking five competition records.

Sabah’s nine gold medals came through men's javelin in F13, F36, F37, F54 and F57; men's 100 metres in T37, T44 and T47; and women's long jump F20.

Five new records were created by Ahmad Ajin Bagudan (men's javelin F13), Heronlee Wong (men's javelin F37), Muhammad Khairi Military Lorin (men's javelin F54), Eddy Bernard (men’s 100m T44) and Mukhriz Ameer Izzudin Abdul Rauf (men's 100m T47).

Ahmad Ajin, who renewed his men's javelin F13 record with a throw of 46.90m, surpassing the old mark of 46.71m, dedicated the success to his wife Rozzela Kamisin and his son Wildan Rizky who is just a week old.

Sabah athletics squad manager Anne Liuh described the rampage as the revival of Sabah by a new breed of athletes who created surprises by winning silver and bronze.

“Anne told Bernama here today that the Sabah athletics squad had set a lower target of 17 gold medals compared to 19 gold won at the 2018 Perak Para Sukma as some athletes were not allowed to compete since they had represented the country at the Paralympic Games, while some events were not contested.

“All these athletes are golden prospects for Sabah. We are just waiting for a miraculous display to surpass our target," she said.

Meanwhile, the first day of athletics (over four days) also witnessed powerhouse Sarawak winning six gold while Perak won four; Kedah and Johor each won three.

-- BERNAMA