KUALA LUMPUR: TV3 drama series Cinta Si Wedding Planner was the starting point for Terengganu taekwondo athlete Fu Ceen Put Thai to embrace Islam in December last year.
According to Harian Metro, Fu Ceen, whose Muslim name is Fathurrahman, went viral on social media recently lately when he was seen waving the Terengganu flag around the court before performing 'sujud syukur' (prostration of gratitude) in public after winning the men's under 63kg taekwondo event at the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuching, Sarawak.
Even though it was his first time in action in Sukma, Fu Ceen managed to beat the Perlis contestant, Muhammad Rafieqqie Danish Md Roshidi with 13-2.
The 21-year-old athlete from Pasir Mas, Kelantan said he was taken by the lives portrayed by the drama's leads, Adi Putra and Mira Filzah, and decided to take a deep dive into Islam.
He said that he kept his conversion to Islam a secret from family members because he wanted to wait for the right time and did not want his mother to be sad about the decision.
"When my mother found out I embraced Islam, she was obviously shocked and didn't want to talk. However, I took her for a walk and slowly persuaded her to accept my choice.
"I did plan to perform 'sujud syukur' if I won a gold medal and that was the right time to tell my mother.
"My mother could not accept it initially, maybe because she was upset that she got to know about this later than other people," he said.
Fu Ceen, who is also a student at Politeknik Metro Kuala Lumpur added that many good things have happened in his life since he embraced Islam.
"I won a gold medal in Sukma, was selected for the national talent identification camp and also had several other successes in recent times.
"My relationship with my mother remains strong though because in Islam, the mother is of great importance," he said.