Jonah Wants To Redeem Himself By Cracking SEA Games Shot Put Record

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- After returning empty-handed at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, national shot put champion Jonah Chang Rigan decided to set a bold target for the 2025 edition in Thailand, next month.

Not only aiming to grab gold, Jonah also wants to break the games record set by Filipino athlete William Morrison, which was 18.14 metres (m) at the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam, as well as his own national record of 18.66m at the 2025 Malaysian Educational Institutions (SIPMA) Sports Championship in Johor Bahru, in September.

"I am targeting to break the national record and hope to get a bonus by doing 19 metres, which will be a history (new games record) in the SEA Games," he said when met recently.

At the 2023 SEA Games, Jonah only managed to finish fourth with a record of 16.27m behind national track and field champion Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli who took bronze (17.30 m).

However, the athlete from Sarawak said he is still wary of the challenge from Morrison given that his main challenger had a season-best record of 18.81m at the Philippine Athletics Championships in May.

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old athlete admitted to facing pressure in his second appearance at the biennial games as he will be participating in another event, the discus throw.

"This is the first time I have taken part in two events at a major sports event like the SEA Games, previously it was only at the Malaysia Games. For me, it is added pressure this time," he said.

The 2025 SEA Games will be held from Dec 9-20 involving two regions, namely Bangkok and Chonburi.

-- BERNAMA