National gymnast vaults to history as first Malaysian to win medal at Asian meet

Well earned: Mohd Sharul Aimy posing with his bronze medal.

PETALING JAYA: All national artistic gymnast Mohd Sharul Aimy wanted to do was to get his landing right in his vault routine in the Asian Championships.

But the 22-year-old did way better by winning a bronze and will now return home as the first Malaysian to win a medal in the men’s artistic competition at the Asian meet since its inception in 1996.

The Terengganu-born Sharul impressed the judges with his perfect landing to score 14.466 points to finish third in the final at the Gymnastics Sports Palace in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Sunday.

He missed out just a few points to finish behind the gold medallist from the Philippines, Carlos Yulo (14.883), and second-placed home favourite Abdulaziz Mirvaliev (14.783).

From missing out on the Paris Olympics to falling flat several times and now finally standing tall as one of the best in Asia, Sharul was, naturally, a picture of delight.

“I competed in three World Cups, but there were no good outcomes. In Egypt (Feb 15-18), I fell and did not get to the final. In Germany (Feb 22-25), I did better but it was not enough to get to the final. In Baku (March 7-10, I got to the final but faltered because of a mistake,” he said.

The World Cups were the final qualifying stage for Paris Games.

He had to skip the Doha edition from April 17-20 due to a knee injury.

“My goal was to keep my routine clean in the Asian Championships and not to fall in any event. I only focused on the vault and the all-around event as I’m still recovering from injury.

“Now I am holding a medal, I’m also happy to show that my bronze medal win in the Asian Games last year in China was no fluke.

“It is also nice to etch my name in history as the first Malaysian to win a medal in the Asian Championships.”

Inspired by his performance in the Asian meet, Sharul is looking forward to fighting for a spot in the next Olympic Games in 2028.

“I can’t qualify for the Olympics (via wildcard) because I did not compete in the all-around at the Asian Championships. I was recovering from a knee injury before flying to Tashkent, so I was not fully fit to compete in all the events.

“Yes, I am a bit sad because I could not qualify for the Olympics this year but I plan to go for the Los Angeles edition. The aim is to qualify as early as possible.

“I hope to improve my scores in the all-around event at the next two World Championships to qualify for Los Angeles.”