Sie Yan’s external inspiration for internal competition

PETALING JAYA: National rhythmic gymnast Koi Sie Yan (pic) is drawing inspiration from the European regional meets to be ready for the internal competitions at the National Sports Council (NSC) in Bukit Jalil in December.

The gymnasts are looking forward to the internal competitions as they have been starved of real competitions since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sie Yan said she was picking up points from gymnasts in Europe, who have been competing in events hosted in Ukraine and Belarus over the last one month.

“I’ve been watching their routines together with my teammates to see what we can learn from them, ” said the Universiti Putra Malaysia student, who is pursuing a Parks and Recreation Science degree.

“We compare our routines with the European gymnasts, as some of them have qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo next year.

“Our coaches have told us to implement some of their moves in our routines. This is a great way for us to improve too.”

Sie Yan said she was impressed with Anastasiia Salos from Belarus.

“She is 18 and looks good. I want to be as good as her. I get so excited when I watch her perform, ” she said.

The 2019 SEA Games ribbons gold medallist Sie Yan said it was also good to have new faces in the team. Juniors Ng Joe Ee and Lai Yun Jo have joined them as replacements for seniors – Amy Kwan Dict Weng and Iman Alisha Fakhri Yassin, who have retired.

The others in the team are Izzah Amzan, Tammy Ng Jia Wen and Rayna Hoh Khai Lin.

“The quality of our juniors is pretty good. They just need some experience to move forward, ” said Sie Yan.

“They will get better when competitions resume. The bond will only get stronger.”