Malaysian Throwers Win Gold, Aim for National Records

Malaysian shot put athlete Jonah Chang Rigan secured a gold medal at the New Taipei Open, but admitted his performance was far from his true potential. His winning throw measured 18.28 meters, falling short of his national record of 18.81 meters set at the Asian Throwing Championship in South Korea last month.

Despite the achievement, Jonah expressed contentment with the gold, acknowledging his fatigue and the overall subpar performance of competitors. "What's important is I'm grateful for the gold medal. I didn't expect this because my body felt very tired. If you look at today's results, everyone wasn't at their best. I consider myself lucky," he said.

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What's important is I'm grateful for the gold medal. I didn't expect this because my body felt very tired. If you look at today's results, everyone wasn't at their best. I consider myself lucky.

Jonah's current performance is not yet sufficient for qualification to the Asian Games, highlighting the need for significant improvement in upcoming events. Meanwhile, fellow Malaysian athlete Sadat Marzuqi Ajisan achieved a personal satisfaction by winning the men's hammer throw gold with a 65.24-meter throw, exceeding his own expectations.

"This result was truly unexpected. My next goal is to try and throw better. My target is to break the national record," Sadat stated. In a separate event, Malaysian discus thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin earned a bronze medal at the Liese Prokop Memorial in Austria with a throw of 59.08 meters, marking his best performance of the season.

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This result was truly unexpected. My next goal is to try and throw better. My target is to break the national record.