PETALING JAYA: Despite nursing injuries, national artistic gymnast Mohd Sharul Aimy successfully qualified for the men’s vault final on Monday (Sept 21).
The 25-year-old, who traveled to Japan with shoulder and meniscus issues, focused exclusively on the vault event.
His total score of 13.833 points secured a fifth-place finish, comfortably within the top eight required to advance.
The final is scheduled to take place on Friday.
Sharul, a bronze medalist at the Hangzhou Games, aims to build on this success.
His coach, Ng Shu Liang, praised the performance while emphasizing the challenges ahead.
“He was brilliant, and I’m so proud of him,” Shu Liang said.
“But the competition is far from over, so now we need to focus on the final.”
The upcoming final will present a significant challenge for Sharul as he will compete against top contenders, including Asian No. 2 Kim Jae-ho of South Korea and world champion Carlos Yulo of the Philippines, who qualified in second and seventh place, respectively.
"He will need to trust himself and be fully committed," Shu Liang added.
"If he manages that, anything can happen."
Meanwhile, the Malaysian girls’ artictic team of Cadence Teh Zi Qi, Nicole Wong Ziyi, Yap Kang Xian, Rachel Yeoh Li Wen and Marissa Zaiful Azlan will start their Asiad campaign with qualifiers on Tuesday (Sept 22).
