LABUAN: When a group of Sabah kayakers joined the Pulau Papan Kayak Challenge here, little did they know they would make an impression in the international-level competition.
With little training, and some of them with no prior experience in the sport, let alone competing in it, the quickly assembled kayak athletes made it to the finishing line, much to their own surprise, as well as that of their more seasoned rivals.
A total of 18 teams from Sabah in the singles and doubles categories managed to finish in the top seven of their respective categories of the 7-km race on the final day of the 24th Labuan International Sea Challenge (LISC) at the Labuan International Sea Sports Complex.
Nur Rahmah Arabella Aziroli from the Sabah Canoe Association (SCA) emerged champion in the Women’s Singles Open, edging her teammate Rosaelda Syahadan, and Siti Fairuz Rosman from the Labuan Canoe Association (LCA).
Burhanuddin Halim (Sabah Team) won the Men’s Singles Open, while Muhammad Azmi Ibrahim (Terengganu) and Mohd Danial Firdaus Mohamad from SCA finished second and third respectively.
Burhanuddin Halim and Affandy Abdullah (Sabah Team) won the Men’s Doubles Open in a stiff race against siblings from the LCA team, Nadzmar Sukarno and Shahdan Sukarno, while Muhammad Safwan Saifullah Shamrin and Mohd Danial Muizz Zainuddin from SCA finished third.
Hamid Angin and Rosaelda Syahadan (SCA) emerged champions of the Mixed Doubles Open, while Jiana Tosawi and Nadzmar Sukarno (LCA), and Iqbal Haikal Jasmin and Alya Farzana Mohd Ali came in second and third.
The Sabah team owed their impressive paddling to a positive attitude and a fighting spirit.
“We just wanted to try it out for the experience but also thought we could give them (competitors) a fight.
“Although some of us are lacking (in terms of training), we believed in ourselves and our morale was high, and we are proud to have represented Sabah through the SCA,” said a group of Sabah kayakers.
According to the group, the training was initially conducted by the association two to three times a week, but gradually increased to twice a day as the competition drew closer.
This was essential, considering they had only about a month to prepare for the competition.
LISC organising chairman Rithuan Ismail said although kayakers from Labuan did not win any category and managed only to secure second runner-up in the women’s singles open and first runner-up in the men’s double open and mixed doubles open, they were nevertheless emboldened by the experience.
The impressive performance also caught the eyes of other team officials and coaches, who opined that with more training and the proper techniques the newbies could be a force to be reckoned with. – BERNAMA
