Age May Be Catching Up But Muhammad Syafiq Has No Intention Of Retiring Yet

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Age may be catching up on him but National diver Muhammad Syafiq Puteh is not ready yet to close the chapter on his Southeast Asian (SEA) Games journey.

Still fresh from his success of bringing home two silver medals from the recent 2025 Asian Aquatics Championships in Ahmedabad, India, Muhammad Syafiq instead hinted that the 2027 edition, when Malaysia hosts the biennial sporting event, could possibly be his final dive on the SEA Games stage.

"As long as I can last, I will try to do my best for Malaysia and perhaps my target for my last SEA Games will be in another two years.

"However, I will have to see what my body's condition is like then," he said when met by reporters during the visit of the 2025 SEA Games Chef-de-Mission (CDM) Nurul Huda Abdullah at the national diving squad's training venue here, today.

At the 2025 Asian Aquatics Championships, Muhammad Syafiq contributed a silver medal in the men's 1-meter (m) springboard event and another silver in the men's 3m synchronised springboard with young athlete Elvis Priestly Clement.

Regarding his target for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, the 30-year-old diver, who will be making his sixth appearance at the biennial event since the 2015 edition in Singapore, is determined to hunt for a hat-trick of gold medals in the men's 3m springboard after winning it in the 2021 edition in Hanoi and the 2023 edition in Phnom Penh.

The 2025 SEA Games is scheduled to take place from Dec 9 to 20 in three provinces: Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla.

-- BERNAMA