SHAH ALAM: A month ago, Wee Din Jun could barely lift his left leg and was also struggling with his weight.
On Friday (Aug 21), he became a Malaysia Games (Sukma) wushu champion.
The 21-year-old feared he would end his Sukma campaign without a single gold after injuring his left leg in a training incident before the Games.
But Din Jun refused to give up and recovered just in time to compete.
On Friday (Aug 21), he held his nerve and nailed his routines to win the nandao (sword) and nangun (cudgel) combined event at IDCC Shah Alam.
He earned 9.600 in both nandao and nangun respectively to win Penang's second gold in the wushu competition with a total of 19.200 points.
"I could not jump in training for about two weeks and it slowed down my preparation a lot.
"It stressed me out as I could not even lift my legs up," said Din Jun.
Sarawakian John Phang settled for silver with 19.103 points ahead of Selangor's Tan Yu Zhe (19.089).
Din Jun, who is also a part-time coach working with young children, was happy to finally deliver.
"This is my first time winning after trying in two previous Games," said Din Jun.
"I got one bronze in nangun in 2022 Sukma but finished empty handed in Sarawak two years ago as I made mistakes in all three events.
"I felt very down but this time, my coach told me to just relax and enjoy myself in my last Games.
"This is a meaningful gold for me as I had to be consistent in two routines and proved to everyone that I can be a Sukma champion," said Din Jun.
He was also happy that he was able to deal with his weight issue.
"My weight has stayed around 57kg for the last few years and it is so hard for me to gain weight.
"It was necessary for me to gain weight as you need to have power to execute your routine.
"Fortunately, I managed to gain up to 59kg," added Din Jun, who still has the nanquan event to look forward to on Saturday (Aug 22).
RESULTS
Men's nandao and nangun: 1. Wee Din Jun (Pen) 19.200, 2. John Phang (Swk) 19.103, 3. Tan Yu Zhe (Sel) 19.089.
