12-Year-Old Malaysian Figure Skater Bags 5 Gold Medals In Bangkok
Sangeeta Retnakumar started skating at the tender age of seven.
Malaysia's skating princess, Sangeeta Retnakumar, bagged a total of five gold medals in a recently concluded competition held in Bangkok, Thailand
12-year-old Sangeeta competed in the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) Asia Final Championship Series and won first place in Freestyle 4, Solo Comp F4, Footwork F4, Open FS Silver, and Drama Sport FS4 events, reported The Star.
The Year Six pupil from SK Pusat Bandar Puchong 2 represented Sunway Pyramid Ice Academy in the five-day competition.
According to ISI's website, the competition was open to participants with over 60 accumulated points and eligible to skaters aged between six and 12.
Image via United Malaysian Hindu Voice/Facebook
Sangeeta competed against 128 participants from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines
The aspiring Winter Olympics athlete said she dedicated her win to her grandmother Raja Hispery Muthu, who passed away last month.
"She was my greatest blessing," said Sangeeta.
"I would also like to thank my coaches Micheal Chak and Angeline Chan."
Image via United Malaysian Hindu Voice/Facebook
Despite her young age, Sangeeta wakes up before dawn for training four times a week
Her parents play an important role in nurturing Sangeeta to be a world-class figure skater.
"She has to wake up as early as four in the morning and go for training. Her father takes her to training," said her mother, adding that she is a role model to her three-year-old and nine-year-old siblings.
She started training when she was seven years old and has won many medals in the past four years
Image via United Malaysian Hindu Voice/Facebook
According to Rojak Daily, Sangeeta's dream is to compete in the Winter Olympics in the future. Her parents are behind her every step of the way, despite skating being an expensive sport.
Sangeeta's latest triumph was celebrated on social media, with many netizens congratulating her on her victory
Photos of Sangeeta wearing five medals were widely circulated on Facebook. One of the posts was liked over 1,000 times.
"Congratulations, Sangeeta. Keep up the good performance and continue to work hard," said a supportive netizen.
"Congratulations, Sangeeta! Thank you for putting our country on the map," one Facebook user commented.
Image via Facebook
Meanwhile, three-year-old Muhammad Haryz Nadzim was recently accepted into Mensa UK, a society for high IQ people:
Here are other recent achievements by Malaysians that have made us proud:
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