S. KISONA was only named for the Sea Games women’s singles event when defending champion Goh Jin Wei had to withdraw from the Philippines edition following a surgery.
And today, Kisona is a Sea Games champion.
The World No 104 was not expected to go far in the event, but the shuttler defied the odds, stunning World No 24 Gregoria Mariskan Tunjung of Indonesia and second seed Nitchaon Jindapol (World No 22) of Thailand in the opening rounds to earn a crack at the title.
In the final, Kisona, who only plays in lower-tier tournaments, defeated World No 37 Ruselli Hartawan 20-22, 21-14, 21-13 for the gold medal.
“This is the biggest win of my career. I am very pleased with my achievement,” said Kisona.
It was a sweet double for Malaysia when Lee Zii Jia defeated Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 21-18 in the men’s singles final.