Sofea continues golden family tradition

SHAH ALAM: The saying “the family that fights together, stays together” rings true with Sabah wushu exponent Amirah Sofea Azlan.

The 19-year-old continued her family’s tradition of getting gold medals in combat sports at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) yesterday with her successful title defence in the women’s sanda 48kg category.

“It’s truly a family thing. Everyone in my family fights,” said Sofea, after the bout at the IDCC.

The final saw Sofea face off against Johor’s See Ke Xin in a one-sided bout that ended 2-0 in her favour.

Her siblings had previously garnered recognition at the 2022 Games, where elder brother Mohd Aiman Azlan clinched a gold medal in the men’s 60kg event, while her sister, Amirah Syahirah Azlan, emerged as the 68kg karate champion.

Sofea herself began her martial arts journey at the age of six, initially learning karate before transitioning to wushu upon recognising her innate talent in the sport.

“I hope to be able to represent the nation at the upcoming SEA Games after missing out on the last one,” she added.

Meanwhile, Terengganu’s Mohd Baihaqi Hilmi Mohamad was crowned champion of the sanda men’s 48kg after overcoming Aaron Ngan Kong Fei of Selangor 2-0.

This achievement marked a significant milestone for the young athlete, as he surpassed his third-place finish at the Kuching Games.

“I wasn’t satisfied in 2024. So I did everything in my capacity to win this time as it’s my final Games.

“And it worked out well,” said Baihaqi.