Nor Farah Ain eyes 2026 Commonwealth Games after ASN win
PETALING JAYA: The ground-breaking success of being crowned Sportswoman of the Year at the 2024 National Sports Awards (ASN) has fuelled the spirit of national lawn bowler Nor Farah Ain Abdullah for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Nor Farah said it will be no walk in the park to Glasgow as she has to first jostle for a place at the quadrennial games with other senior lawn bowlers.
'My biggest target is to compete in the 2026 Commonwealth Games but I have to compete against my seniors first,' she said after the 2024 ASN here today.
After rising to prominence in 2024 with the Fours gold medal at the 15th Asian Lawn Bowls Championship (Pattaya, Thailand), the world number one made history by becoming the first lawn bowler to win the National Sportswoman trophy.
Nor Farah, who is resting after sustaining a right shoulder injury, hopes to return to action at the 2025 Hong Kong International Lawn Bowls Classic scheduled for this November.
Commenting on the award she received today, Nor Farah described it as the biggest achievement in her career and thanked Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, the Malaysian Lawn Bowls Federation, notably president Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz, and the National Sports Council for the strong support given to her and the sport of lawn bowling all these years.
Nor Farah stole the limelight after winning the women's singles gold medal at the 2024 World Indoor Bowls Championships at Guernsey, Channel Islands, in April last year.
Meanwhile, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh, who received the Sportsman of the Year Award on behalf of national men's doubles pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, said the recognition received by the 2022 world doubles champions was the highest honour for badminton in the country.
Kenny hopes that the success will motivate not just Aaron-Wooi Yik but also other shuttlers to produce excellent results and bring glory to the country on the world stage.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were absent as they are participating in the 2025 Thailand Open tournament, which runs from today until Sunday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, who are currently ranked world fifth, retained their Olympic bronze medal when they defeated Danish pair Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In another development, Kenny was tight-lipped about the latest status of the country's top women's doubles pair of Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, whose contract with BAM is under negotiation after it expired last December.
BAM deputy president 1 Datuk V. Subramaniam said on Saturday that their future under the BAM flagship would be determined after the conclusion of the 2025 Thailand Open.
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