‘Burger champ’ has something right up her alley

A whopper: Alia with her new creation ‘The Bet’.

PETALING JAYA: It was a chant so delicious that it whetted national shooter Alia Sazana Azahari’s appetite for gold.

Six years ago, cheers of “burger, burger” from her teammates inspired Alia to beat homester Teh Xiu Hong 7-1 to top the 25m pistol event in the 2015 Singapore SEA Games.

To commemorate that feat, the 29-year-old has introduced a new burger at her Sasa Vietnamese Coffee House restaurant in Terengganu.

“During that SEA Games, I made a burger wager with my good friend and Thai shooter Tanyaporn (Prucksakorn), and my teammates were chanting “burger” during the final that ultimately led me to win the gold medal. I’ve been known as the burger champ since then,” said Alia.

“The experience was one of a kind and it’s one of my best memories at the Games. So I had to have it on my menu since many people have been asking me for it.

“Using my experience and having tasted burgers around the world, I’ve perfected the patties and sauce to make the ultimate burger... The Bet.

“During camp break, I made it my goal to set it up.”

Alia has returned to the National Sports Centre to report for camp-based training and hopes to compete again.

She admitted that being cooped up in one place has been challenging, but she has learnt to adapt.

“I’ve been in the sports bubble since last year. It was hard to get used to it at first as we didn’t get to see our families.

“But we’ve got use to it and even found a way to make it fun.”