Gymnast won’t quit yet as gold keeps fire burning in her

Prized possession: Rachel Yeoh posing with her gold medal in the uneven bars event. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

BANGKOK: It was supposed to be the swan song for national gymnast Rachel Yeoh Li Wen. Not by a long shot.

Even at 26, she showed she still has the fire burning in her when she captured her second gold in the uneven bars in the SEA Games - and decided that she would not be retiring soon.

Rachel has suffered various injuries during her artistic gymnastics career so far and doctors even told her not to compete for long.

However, she managed a score of 13.300 to easily triumph at Thammasat University in Pathum Thani yesterday. The Phillippines’ Haylee Garcia took silver with a score of 12.233 while Singapore’s Colleen Hong (10.933) settled for bronze.

Rachel was delighted with her win, her second after bagging the title in the 2021 edition in Vietnam. The women’s events were scrapped in the Cambodia Games in 2023.

“I’m very happy. Finally, I got to defend my gold,” said Rachel.

“I’ve had several bad injuries and doctors advised me not to compete but I feel I still can go on.

“I will say this win was expected. My biggest opponent was myself. The mental battle was the hardest for me.

Rachel also said the gold has kept he fire burning in her and she has set her sights on bigger goals.

“I have no plans on retiring yet. The gold here is a step forward for me and I want to compete in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games next year and try to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” said Rachel.

“I also feel I can be at the next SEA Games in 2027 in Malaysia. I want to keep pushing myself to a higher difficulty.

“The main thing is to keep my body healthy.”

There was also cheer for Yeap Kang Xian, Luqman Al-Hafiz and Sharul Aimy, who all bagged medals in their respective events.

Kang Xian won bronze in the women’s vault with a score of 12.800.

In the men’s events, Luqman claimed silver in the floor exercise after scoring 12.833 while it was bronze for both Sharul, who scored 12.267 in the pommel horse.

n Men

Floor exercise: 1. Surintornta Tikumporn (Tha) 14.000; 2. Luqman Al-Hafiz (Mas) 12.833; 3. Justine De Leon (Phi) 12.500

Pommel horse: 1. Dang Ngoc Xuan (Vie) 14.367; 2. Asher Pua (Sin) 13.100; 3. Sharul Aimy (Mas) 12.267

n Women

Vault: 1. Aleah Finnegan (Phi) 13.433; 2. Nguyen Thi Quynh (Vie); 13.400; 3. Yeap Kang Xian (Mas) 12.800.

Uneven bars: 1. Rachel Yeoh Li Wen (Mas) 13.300; 2. Haylee Garcia (Phi) 12.233; 3. Colleen Hong (Sin) 10.933