Patricia Jaquilina becomes first Sarawakian woman to advance to Sukma boxing finals

SIMANGGANG (Aug 21): Patricia Jaquilina Bruce has written her name into the history books by becoming the first Sarawakian woman to win a boxing match at the Malaysia Games (Sukma), advancing her to the finals.

The women’s boxing is being contested for the first time in Sukma’s history this year.

Although the distinction of being the first woman to win a Sukma boxing match belongs to Sabah’s Deirdra Jacqueline Richard on August 18, Patricia’s achievement remains a pivotal moment in Sarawakian sports history.

However, she will have the chance to do one better than Deirdra as they both will be facing off in the finals tomorrow (Aug 22) for the gold medal.

If Patricia wins tomorrow’s match, she will not only secure the gold medal but also further cement her legacy as a trailblazer for Sarawakian women in sports.

Her journey to the final has been nothing short of impressive when competing in the Women’s Minimum Weight 45kg – 48kg category last night at the Simanggang Indoor Stadium, where she delivered a dominant performance, defeating Nur Balqis Syazwani Mohd Sahidi of Terengganu with a flawless 5-0 score.

She earned unanimous 10s from all the judges across three rounds, solidifying her place in the gold medal match.

When asked by the media after the fight on her historic feat, Patricia responded with humility, saying that she does not realise how significant her win was.

“I don’t know if I have created history or not, I just want to win a medal for Sarawak,” she said.

She revealed that she started boxing when she was in secondary school after encouragement from her father.

According to her, it was her father’s idea to get her into boxing, hence she started training hard as she wanted to know how far the sport would take her.

“I was then selected to represent Sarawak through a special boxing programme for schools and that to me is a great honour and one of my memorable achievements too,” she said.

All eyes will be on Patricia tomorrow as she steps into the ring, with the hopes of Sarawak resting on her shoulders while a win tomorrow would not only be a personal triumph but a historic victory for Sarawakian boxing.

She however must be careful as Deirdra is no pushover either, as the latter also secured a dominant 5-0 victory over her previous opponent, Nurin Irdina Mohd Yuzamry of Negeri Sembilan, on August 18.