Sukma 2024: Gold for Sarawak in squash men’s doubles event

Harith and Altamis celebrating their Sukma 2024 gold medal win in squash at the Sarawak Squash Centre in Petra Jaya on Aug 20, 2024. Photo credit: Ukas

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Aug 20: Sarawak was triumphant in its pursuit of gold—this time in the squash men’s doubles event—as the team beat Penang in three sets to come up on top.

According to a Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) report, Sarawak’s Harith Danial Jefri and Altamis Aqhar Sallam A. Sufian faced off against Penang’s Ishant Shah and Dhirren Rajarathinam at the Sarawak Squash Centre this morning.

The Sarawakian pair got off to a strong start by winning the first set 11-10, only for Penang to take the second set with 9-11.

The final set was a nail-biting one, as Team Sarawak prevailed with a narrow 11-10 win, making it an even sweeter victory for the State players as they were playing on home turf.

Reflecting on their loss in the second set, Harith said that he and his partner made too many mistakes and gave away free points.

“They (Penang team) felt comfortable, won those points easily, and gained confidence from the free points.

“It was a tough one today. We didn’t take it easy, and they are a strong team. We didn’t expect much; we just wanted to give our best and go all out on the court,” he said when met by reporters after the match.

Harith added that the supporters played a big role throughout the match.

“I think supporters played a big role today by cheering for us loudly, which gave us motivation and hype to keep going on the court,” he added.

Meanwhile, Melaka took the bronze medal after the pairing of Veroon Heng and Andrik Kai Shan Lim won against Selangor’s Harold Rynesh Aloysius and Erwin Kross Christopher in three sets (11-6, 10-11, 11-9). — DayakDaily