Tears and triumph: Brunei’s Walid dedicates historic Sukma wushu gold to late mom

BY AHMAD NAZRIN SYAHMI MOHAMAD ARIF

KUCHING: Bruneian wushu sensation Walid Lackhar’s historic win at the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) here on Thursday was not just a personal milestone, but also a heartfelt tribute to his mother, who died two years ago. 

In October 2022, Walid faced the devastating loss of his greatest inspiration – his mother, Rosnah Awang Tengah, who had been the cornerstone of his success, constantly driving him forward until she lost her battle with cancer. 

Delivering Brunei’s first gold in this Sukma edition, the nation’s first in a decade, Walid dedicated his victory to his late mother, who continues to be his guiding light. 

“Honestly even though she’s not here I just hope she is proud of me and I just want to dedicate every achievement to her,” said Walid, his voice breaking with emotion as tears welled up during his interview with Bernama at the Wushu SSC Hall here.

The 20-year-old wushu prodigy also reminisced about his cherished childhood memories, closely tied to his late mother. 

As the younger of two siblings, Wahid recalled how his mother would always be there, driving him and his sister, Basma Lackhar, also a wushu champion for Brunei, to their training sessions, staying by their side until the last training session was done.

“Growing up, it was always mama who took us to training. She was our biggest motivator and the one who kept us going in wushu.

“… because my father had to work most of the time, mom was the one who usually took us to our training sessions, and she would remain there and encourage us… she supported us a lot,” he said.

Walid now wants to follow in the footsteps of his sister, Basma, who has brought immense pride to Brunei on the international wushu stage.

Basma made history as the first Bruneian athlete to win a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in the women’s combined taijiquan and taijijian events.

On Thursday, in only his second appearance at SUKMA, Walid captured gold in the men’s daoshu event — Brunei’s first-ever wushu gold — a day after claiming bronze in the changquan event. – Bernama