Gold medal win a tribute to her late father

KUCHING: Sarawak women’s wheelchair singles para-table tennis athlete described her gold medal win as a tribute to her late father.

Chow Mei Hsia expressed that after representing Sarawak for the fourth time, her long wait for a medal was finally fulfilled in her last match before retirement.

“I am very happy with this victory, but I feel sad that my parents are not here to witness it and share in the prize money.

“This first medal is also a gift for my husband’s upcoming birthday on December 29,” she said when met by reporters yesterday (Sept 23)

Chow in action. Photo: Alif Noni

Chow shared that in the 21st Para (SUKMA) Malaysia Games, several challenges faced during training, including suffering from a severe fever after practising in heavy rain.

Chow, 45, defeated her opponent from Perak, Nurul Fathiah Jamaluddin, with a score of 3-0, winning all three sets 11-7, 11-2, 11-5 in the women’s open wheelchair singles at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Chung Hua No.3 today (Sept 23).

Meanwhile, the silver medal went to the Sabah team represented by Rahimah Andungai after she defeated Perak’s Siti Nur Amira Hamizul 3-0.

Nurul Fathiah Jamaluddin settled for the bronze medal for the Perak team.

The matches were determined by the highest points scored.

For the record, the para- table tennis event began yesterday (September 23) and will conclude on September 27.