KUCHING: Bodybuilding gave Sarawak a fitting yearend boost in 2018 when Buda Anchah and Dr Malvern Abdullah brought cheer to their state with their three-medal haul from an international championship on Dec 14.
It was somewhat a consolation for Sarawak following the state’s disappointment at the Perak Sukma.
Bodybuilding had won the state many honours in the past at high-level competitions through top bodybuilders Buda and Malvern.
Buda from Jaong, Sri aman won gold and silver in the masters (80 kg) and silver in the masters lightweight while Malvern topped it up with another gold at the flyweight (60 kg) class at the 10th World Bodybuilding and Physique Federation (WBPF) held in Chiengmai, Thailand.
In other sports, Pandelela Rinong Parmg who did not hog the limelight in 2018, also had a good year regardless as she was not short of major titles.
Unlike in the 2016 Olympics where she basked in glory with her silver medal win, last year she still managed a historic gold for being the first Malaysian to win in the FICA World Diving championships in Budepest, Hungary.
She claimed gold in the 10m platform together with partner Cheong Jun-Hoong. For added measure, she also picked up a gold in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in the 10m platform.
In golf, local sensation Mirabel Ting Ern Hui gave Sarawak a bright future in the sport when she rounded her year by winning the overall championship in the 13th AmBank Group SportExcel championships held at the Glen Marie Golf and Country Club in Shah Alam, Selangor from Dec 4-6.
Mirabel, 13, also made headway in the Perak Sukma when she won the bronze in the women’s section together with her brother Malcolm Ting who also won bronze in the same Games in the boys’ section.
Rugby seemed to be the sport on the upswing in 2018 with many tournaments being held or revived. They included the SRU Cup, a host of junior tournaments plus the Baram Trophy which was organised by Miri RU.
In memory of the Christian brothers who were active in promoting the game in the 1970s or 1980s, a memorial competition called the Albinus Cup was also organised.
Although they did not win any trophy in Perak, the fact that both the boys’ and girls’ team entered the semifinals augurs well for the progress of the sport. There was too much hype on the Perak Sukma as though Sarawak would make it a year to remember by winning the overall title with the targeted 77 goals but it was not to be.
Although most of the hopeful sports like wushu, tenpin bowling and athletics did prove their domination in the sports again several sports, however, fell short.
It was not their year as they failed to deliver in sports where they were expected to rake in the gold medals like swimming, weightlifting, diving or cycling.
Although they made inroads into track cycling for the first time with several entries, especially in the men’s events, the Sarawak men with only a year’s preparation and without training facilities like a velodrome, were still able to put up a fight in getting fifth or sixth positions.
Even though they were disappointed in sports like taekwondo and karate, most of the young team were able to gain exposure and they might be better prepared for the next Sukma.
In football, where Sarawak are now in the lower Premier League, Sarawak hope to make changes by getting their local Pengiran Bala as the chief coach.
Sarawak met the same fate as in the previous four or five seasons when they failed to qualify amon the elites of Malaysian football in the Super League.
Sarawak remain significant in Malaysian sports as they had 43 members in the national team for the Asian Games and nine athletes, including diver Pandelela and Olympic swimmer Welson Sim for the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast in Brisbane, Australia in 2018.
