Hobbies
Reading, scuba diving. (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
Occupation
Athlete
Education
Humanities, Social and Behavioral Science - Monash University: Subang Jaya, MAS
Spoken languages
English, Malay
Coach
Nataliya Sinkova [national], UKR; Ng Shu Wai [national], MAS
Sporting relatives
Her sister Katrina has represented Malaysia in artistic swimming. She won two gold medals at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. (SportsDeskOnline, 19 May 2015; thestar.com.my, 30 Sep 2010)
International senior debut
2010
Injuries
A torn ankle ligament in 2016 ruled her out of action for two months. (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
A shoulder ligament tear in 2014 took her three months to recover from. (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
She fractured her back in 2010 and her recovery period was six months. (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
In 2005 she suffered a knee fracture and a calf muscle tear that took her four months to recover from. (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
Start sporting career
She first tried gymnastics at age three. "I started training with the national team when I was eight years old."
Reason for taking up the sport
"I was an active child and my parents decided sports was a great avenue for me to pursue."
Trainings
She trains at Malaysia's National Training Centre for Sports in Kuala Lumpur.
Most memorable sporting achievement
Competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (freemalaysiatoday.com, 01 Aug 2021)
Hero / Idol
US artistic gymnast Nastia Liukin. (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
Most influential person in career
Her family, and her coach. (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
Rituals
She listens to music and gives herself a pep talk. (buro247.my, 06 Apr 2018)
Philosophy / Motto
"Always believe in yourself." (Athlete, 13 Aug 2018)
Awards
She was named 2019 Female Olympian of the Year by the Olympic Council of Malaysia. (thestar.com.my, 20 Dec 2019)
She was the Malaysian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2019 World University Games in Naples, Italy. (hmetro.com.my, 28 Jun 2019)
She received the United Malays National Organisation [UMNO] 2015 Icon Award for sports during a ceremony at the UMNO General Assembly in December 2015. (intlgymnast.com, 20 Dec 2015)
Additional information
OLYMPIC DEBUT
She says making her Olympic debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo was challenging, but that it ranked among the best experiences of her career. "It was challenging, both mentally and physically. However, realising my dream since I was three and competing on the Olympic stage has been the most amazing and indescribable feeling. I choked up immediately after walking off the competition floor with feelings of amazement and a sense of accomplishment that I had finally done it. Waking up the day after my competition, I had tears in my eyes. I felt immense pride in having completed this colossal goal. I had performed to the best of my capabilities at the Olympics." (freemalaysiatoday.com, 01 Aug 2021)
INJURY TROUBLE
Injuries have led her to consider quitting the sport at certain points in her career. "There were multiple times I felt like throwing in the towel and said maybe this is not for me, especially when I got injured. Then when you come back, you are way below everyone else, training is very hard and I didn't really see the point of carrying on because I wasn't competing well and kept losing, it was very frustrating because I was working very hard. My family always said that I do it because I love it, so that mindset always helped me because I never felt like I need to train because of my parents, or anything else, it was only because I wanted to." (R.AGE YouTube channel, 11 Sep 2020; malaymail.com, 19 Nov 2019; sea.mashable.com, 07 Oct 2019)
Last update : 2024-07-22