Waterskier Aaliyah doubles up as coach in Moomba Masters

PETALING JAYA: It’s a family affair for the Yoongs in Melbourne as Aaliyah Hanifah competes in her 11th consecutive Moomba Masters in Australia together with her brothers Aiden and Adam on the Yarra River.

But Aaliyah has big sister duty this time around as she is the Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF) appointed coach for her younger brothers at the Junior Moomba event.

It’s the first time the 20-year-old has taken charge of a team for Malaysia in an international event and she did well to guide them.

Having not seen much competition in recent years, 18-year-old Aiden and 16-year-old Adam showed they have tricks up their sleeves despite being absent from the water.

The boys had targeted to finish in the top 10 in the tricks category, and both delivered.

Older brother Aiden finished sixth while Adam took the 10th spot ahead of New Zealand’s Sam Bainbridge.

“I’m very happy to have finished sixth but disappointed that I did not beat my personal best. I was short by just 40 points,” said Aiden.

Adam however did break his personal best by scoring 5240 in round one, beating his previous score of 4750 set in the United States in 2018.

Their father and MWWF head coach Hanifah said the boys’ performance is a good indication for their future campaigns at the SEA Games.

“We are happy with Aiden and Adam’s good performances as we expect Thailand to include waterski in the 2025 SEA Games in Bangkok.

“Malaysia is also set to host the 2027 SEA Games which will definitely include waterski,” he said.

Both brothers had taken turns to be Asian junior tricks champions while Aiden was the 2015 Singapore SEA Games bronze medallist and Adam won gold at the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, Aaliyah will begin her campaign today by competing in all three events – tricks, slalom, and jump – and hopes to build on her success from the World Under-21 Championships last year where she took bronze in the jump event.

“It’s always exciting for me to have the Moomba on my calendar to start the season for the year,” said the four-time Junior Moomba champion and 2022 open women’s overall winner Aaliyah, who is making her 11th appearance.