Close bond: Sriven Tan being carried by his father and coach Tan Chee Leong after the prize-giving ceremony.
TAN Chee Leong lives in Kepala Batas in the north of mainland Penang and travels to Tanjung Malim in Perak twice a week – just to train his son in speed walking.
The father’s sacrifice has paid off, with Penang walker Sriven Tan coming home with the Malaysia Games (Sukma) boys’ 10,000m walk gold medal.
Sriven said his father has been training him since he was 14 and even when he joined Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) last year, his father would come to Tanjung Malim twice a week.
Yesterday, Sriven retained the gold medal he won at the last Games, winning with a time of 48:18.11. His teammate Aiman Haikal Sahrudin took silver (48:23.69) and Federal Territories’ Khor Jing Hong came in third (48:54.29).
“My father trains me till now,” said the 19-year-old who is doing his Diploma in Sports Science and Coaching at UPSI. “I am grateful to have a father and coach like that,” he said.
“Appa (father in Tamil) comes to the campus twice a week to train me. I am glad to continue my family’s love for walking. Both my parents were walkers and now I am continuing it.
“In the last Sukma, I won silver in the 20,000m and gold in the 10,000m. Now I have done the same in Sarawak Sukma, so it feels good.”
Chee Leong was also a champion walker, winning the boys’ 5,000m in three Asean School Championships in Jakarta (1993), Bangkok (1994) and Jakarta (1995). He also won bronze in the 10,000m walk in three Malaysia Games – 1994 in Perak, 1996 in Pahang and 1998 in Selangor, and a silver in the 20,000m in 1998.
He is now one of the athletics coaches with the Penang State Sports Council.
Sriven’s mother, D. Kavitha, represented Penang in the 1993 International Junior Championship race walk.
“Not many people can walk competitively. It requires a lot of technique and rules. You have to train hard for that. Plus it teaches you discipline and rhythm,” said Sriven who now hopes to shine for Malaysia and win a medal in the Thailand SEA Games next year.
At the last SEA Games in Cambodia, he clocked 1’52.59 to finish fifth in the men’s 20km final.
Meanwhile, Pahang’s Nurul Aiyani Mohd Kamaluddin took the hammer throw gold with a distance of 44.28m, glad she overcame her first-time jitters.
“This is my first Sukma, so I had some jitters. I am glad I managed to win a close fight in terms of distance,” she said.
Nurul, 18, said she was a handball player when she joined the Pahang Sports School in Gambang but one of the coaches told her she had the physique of a hammer thrower.
“It took me four years to master this event. Now, it is my favourite sport.” Boys
400m hurdles: 1. Fakhrul Afizul Nasir (Kel) 51.11, 2. Mohd Aiman Najmi Mohd Anuar (Joh) 53.20, 3. Emmanuel Josbert (FT) 53.50.
5,000m: 1. Kristian Tung (Ft) 15:20.50, 2. Shawn Roshan Singh (Prk) 15.27.37, 3. Mohd Farooq Mohd Zubair Kanan (Prk) 15:30.45. 10,000m walk: 1. Sriven Tan (Pen) 48:18.11, 2. Aiman Haikal Sahrudin (Pen) 48:23.69, 3. Khor Jing Hong (Ft) 48:54.29.
Pole vault: 1. Hafidzul Ain (Mel) 4.70m, 2. Hamizan Syahmi Jailin (Sab) 4.50m, 3. Muhammad Izuddin (Sab) 4.30m
Girls
10,000m: 1. Esther Joy Hong Li Chen (Sel) 40:37.98, 2. Tan Zhi Lin (Prk) 40:45.87, 3. Heng Jia Yee (Pen) 42:49.65
400m hurdles: 1. Nur Shaqirah Cik Mat Kilau (Joh) 63.36s, 2. Siti Nor Faqihah Saidi (Kel) 63.44s, 3. Frenynila Sherly Lucius (Sab) 64.22s
Heptathlon: 1. Melissa Choong (Pen) 4,665 pts, 2. Darellyn Denisa Deng Dannis (Swk) 4,539, 3. Elaine Koh (Swk) 4,435
Triple jump: 1. Alia Batrisyia Nasaruddin (Kel) 12.58m, 2. Farah Syakira Azisafrin (Prk) 12.07m, 3. Nurkhaleesa Yasmin Awang (Joh) 12.06m
Shot putt: 1. Farhana Izurein Faizal Amizul (Per) 12.61m, 2. Ling Pei Voon (Swk) 11.88m, 3. Nurul Aqma Mohd Nizam (Ked) 11.25m.Hammer throw: 1. Nurul Aiyani Mohd Kamaluddin (Pah) 44.28m, 2. Nur Salsabilla Mohd Zamsairon (Per) 44.10m, 3. Ailenna Thipong Laga (Swk) 42.04m.
