KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — National women's lawn bowler pair Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi and Aleena Ahmad Nawawi created history when they became the first lawn bowls representatives to win the Best Athlete award at the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100PLUS 2023 Awards night here yesterday.
They pipped squash players S. Sivasangari and Ng Eain Yow, wushu exponent Wong Weng Soon and bowling world champion Natasha Mohamed Roslan to the accolade.
Last September, Nur Ain Nabilah-Aleena created a sensation when they ended the country's 15-year gold medal drought by defeating Malta's Rebecca Rixon-Connie Rixon 15-12 in the women's pairs final at the 2023 World Lawn Bowls Championships in Gold Coast, Australia.
Aleena said they were humbled to be the first representatives from lawn bowls to win the Best Athlete award for last year.
"Today's success is very meaningful to us, we are on the SAM Awards list and broke the record by emerging as the first lawn bowlers to win the Best Athlete award,” she told reporters.
Meanwhile, 2020 Paralympic gold medallist Cheah Liek Hou defended the Best Para Athlete title by edging two other candidates, powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Gustin and boccia athlete Noor Azkuzaimey Mat Salim.
Liek Hou said he was proud to have retained his domination in the category and is confident that the award will drive him to defend his Paralympic badminton gold medal in the men's singles SU5 (physical impairment) category at the 2024 edition in Paris.
"Tonight's success is because I performed well, stayed in good condition and won several championships in 2023,” he said.
Some of his notable achievements in the men's singles event last year included winning gold at the International Spanish Para Badminton Championships, Brazil International Para Badminton Championships and England International Para Badminton Championships.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi presented the trophies and RM10,000 cash prizes to Nur Ain Nabilah-Aleena and Liek Hou at the awards ceremony at Hotel Seri Pacific, here.
— Bernama
