He’s got power! Sarawak’s Jonah Chang Rigan achieves three-gold target with hammer throw win

KUCHING (August 23): Sarawak strongman Jonah Chang Rigan achieved his 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma) target of three gold medals today when he triumphed in the men’s hammer throw with a distance of 54.65 metres.

Jonah had previously clinched gold in both the men’s discus throw and shot put events, including a new Games record for the latter of 17.66 metres.

“I tried not to be overconfident because anything could happen. I humbled myself at first.

“But now I am pleased that I got three golds for Sarawak,” he told reporters at Sarawak Stadium.

The silver medal went to Rizad Azri Che Radzi from Perlis (48.70 metres), while Sabah’s Nabil Faiz Ayub won the bronze (46.50 metres).

“A great job to other contingents as well for this Sukma. I was nervous at first as I knew Perlis could overcome me,” he shared.

Jonah added he plans to head home to Sarikei for a break before returning to competition.

“The process of earning three gold medals for Sarawak was tough but worth it. We trained for two hours every day.

“My next competition will be Cahya Mata Sarawak. It will start in Perlis and the finals will be in Sarawak,” he added.

Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Deputy Minister Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu, who is Sarawak chef de mission, presented the medals.

Meanwhile, Sarawak’s Gabriel Syamsuri Pauline won bronze in the men’s long jump event with a leap of 7.08 metres.

The gold medal was claimed by Zhi Hang Tan from Penang, while the silver went to Kasman Kassim from Sabah.

In the women’s 4×100 metre relay, Sarawak secured bronze with a time of 48.38 seconds in a closely contested race against Johor, who took silver with 48.32 seconds — a difference of 0.06 seconds.

The gold went to Selangor with a time of 47.97 seconds.