KUCHING, “I won on the blessing from helping my mother sell kuih in the village.”
That was the touching statement from Kedah runner Mohd Arman Rosli, who was surprised to win a gold medal in his first appearance in the 1,500 metres (m) event at the 2024 Malaysia Para Games (Para SUKMA) at Sarawak Stadium today.
Even more remarkable, the Alor Setar-born athlete admitted that he had no prior competition experience and had only trained twice before heading to Sarawak, as his coach chose him to represent the ‘rice bowl’ state at the last minute.
The 27-year-old runner described his victory as a ‘blessing’ from helping his mother sell kuih and nasi lemak in their village in Sik, Kedah, as he had never competed in any local or international tournaments before.
‘The medal is for my mother. I’ve never run before, have no experience, and only trained twice before coming here. My mother said I could win if I was blessed for helping her. I didn’t expect to win.
‘I wanted to be a mechanic as I have a certificate, b
ut my mother is the only one selling breakfast. My father passed away two years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, so I helped my mother sell kuih,’ he told Bernama while holding back tears after the event.
Mohd Arman Rosli won the 1,500m T36 (physical impairment) event with a time of 6:16.84 seconds, while Perak’s Mahfudz Mahzan (6:26.38s) was second and Sarawak’s Mohd Hishamudin Razali (7:02.37s) was third.
Kedah also triumphed in the men’s 1,500m T20 (physical impairment), with Muhamad Nurdin Ibrahim winning in a time of 4:21.26s, which broke the previous record set by Muhamad Haqeem Mustaqim from Perlis in 2018.
The silver and bronze went to Mohd Fakrul Azimi Mohd Sukimi of Kelantan (6:26.58s) and Ku Muhammad Danish Syazwan Ku Harmizan of Selangor (7:33.57s) respectively.
Muhamad Nurdin, who won a bronze medal at the ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia last year, said that his secret to success was reciting zikir throughout the race.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency