PETALING JAYA: Striking gold in the Hanoi SEA Games has whetted karate exponent C. Shahmalarani’s (pic) appetite for more success.
Now the 24-year-old, who is pursuing her Masters in Actuarial Science, is eyeing more glitter in the ASEAN University Games from July 26-Aug 6 in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.
This may be Shahmalarani’s one and only chance to win gold in the Games as she will be completing her Masters next year and thus will not be eligible to compete in the next edition in 2024.
But she admitted that it won’t be an easy task.
“I aim to win gold in the Games as this may be my last chance to participate. However, it won’t be that easy as some of the world’s top 10 exponents will be competing. I’ll give my all and let’s see what awaits me,” said Shahmalarani.
She can be relied on to give a strong performance based on her stellar showings in the SEA Games. Shahmalarani won gold in the women’s 50kg in her debut.
“My long-awaited dream came true when I won the SEA Games gold. The triumph has given me a boost to further progress in my sporting career,” said Shahmalarani.
Currently, she is catching up on her studies as she had been focusing on the biennial Games before this.
“I’m catching up with my Masters now as I was busy preparing for the Games last month and could not study much. It’s hard to balance my studies with my karate commitments. I had to sacrifice my rest, recovery time and rush things with my studies so as to not miss any of my training slots,” explained Shahmalarani.
He perseverance and fighting spirit paid off big time in the Games and she is now setting her sights on bigger targets besides the ASEAN University Games.
“I’m hoping to be part of the team for the Hangzhou Asian Games next year. It’s based on our coaches’ decision and we have not got any selection list yet,” said Shahmalarani.
She is definitely on the right path to success as besides her victory in the SEA Games, she also impressed in the South-East Asian Karate Federation (SEAKF) championships in March where she won the women’s kumite below 50kg gold medal.
It was her first ever senior title.
