KUCHING: Taekwondo exponent Chin Ken Haw admitted he was a bundle of nerves despite clinching two gold medals in the poomsae event at the Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma) today.
Ken Haw delivered an outstanding performance at the Perpaduan Stadium, winning gold in both the men's individual and team freestyle poomsae, giving Sarawak a strong start in taekwondo.
However, performing in front of home supporters proved challenging for the Sarawakian, who confessed that he became anxious whenever his name was chanted from the stands.
The 21-year-old, despite having international experience, said he felt nervous competing in front of his home fans.
"Today's performance was good, but there are still a few areas to work on to achieve perfection in the future," said the Sunway University student.
"I've been dealing with an injury for the past six months, and I'm lucky to have recovered in time to compete today.
"Who says there were no nerves? Performing in front of the home crowd and in my own state made me even more anxious, but thankfully, everything went smoothly."
Sarawak continued their dominance in taekwondo today, sweeping all four gold medals on offer, bringing their total to seven titles in the event.
Ken Haw earned 7.23 points to top the freestyle poomsae category, finishing ahead of silver medallist Le Jie Khoo of Johor (6.77 points). Sabah's Ned Augusti Nelson (6.10 points) and Perak's Chun Yao Fan (5.73) took the bronze medals.
Ken Haw clinched his second gold in the team event for Sarawak, partnering Fedealis Kom and Randy Owen, to secure 7.13 points.
Kedah's trio of Leonardo Jin Hao, Avila Vianney, and Chung Min Pei finished second with 5.93 points.
Kelantan (5.80) and Sabah (5.70) were the bronze medallists.
Sarawak's Fedealis and Farah Nabilla Maddarus won the mixed freestyle poomsae gold with 6.24 points.
Sarawak also dominated the women's individual freestyle poomsae category, with Zara Nur Zafirah Yusof topping the event, scoring 6.50 points.