PETALING JAYA: Three Malaysia Games (Sukma) and a whopping 19 gold medals in total.
That sums up Pahang shooter Cheah Zen Hong's extraordinary journey in the Games after he ended his final outing with a perfect nine at the National Shooting Range in Subang on Friday (Aug 21).
The 20-year-old Zen Hong wore a broad smile after bringing the curtain down on his third and final Sukma campaign in remarkable fashion.
Besides the nine golds, he won one silver and two Games records.
Yesterday, the Pahang shooter shot down two golds on the final day of competition beginning with the men’s 25m sport pistol individual event.
Zen Hong amassed 575 points to set a new Games record, with Terengganu’s Banin Al Ghazali Ahmad Badrul Hisyam taking silver on 566 while Pahang teammate Zainal Azim Ahmad Mahmud claimed bronze with 563.
He then completed his campaign with another gold in the team event, combining with Zainal ‘Azim and Ahmad Danial Hakim Abdul Razak for a total of 1,671 points.
Pahang finished ahead of Selangor (1,645) and Terengganu (1,629).
Zen Hong won seven golds at the last edition in Sarawak two years ago and fired down three in his debut at the 2022 edition.
"From Sukma 2022 until 2026, I’m very grateful that I managed to achieve what I wanted in all three editions.
"It has been a very good journey and I hope I can achieve something just as special at a higher level after this,” he added.
"Nine gold medals are not easy to win in a single edition. I’m very happy that I managed to better the seven golds I won at the previous Sukma. For me, this marks the end of my junior career," said Zen Hong.
"To be honest, I did wonder whether I could break the record, but I told myself not to think too much about it.
"Just finish the competition and do my best. I hope this is the perfect ending to my Sukma journey."
His outstanding haul has also put him among the leading contenders for the Sukma Sportsman award.
Earlier, Zen Hong had already won gold in the men’s 10m air pistol individual, where he set a Games record of 236.8 points, as well as the men’s 10m air pistol team and men’s 25m rapid fire pistol individual events.
He also struck gold in the men’s 50m pistol individual and team events, men’s 25m standard pistol team and 10m air pistol mixed team.
"We more or less knew where we stood compared to the other shooters, so our strategy was quite simple. We just had to stay calm and fight until the end," said Zen Hong.
With his Sukma journey now over, Zen Hong hopes to carry the same form into the national team since his debut at the 2022 edition in Kuala Lumpur.
Thanks to Zen Hong, Pahang ends the shooting competition with 14 golds, seven silvers and five bronzes.
