KUCHING: The journey of Pahang's taekwondo exponent, Putera Arsyad Danish Afrizan, to winning the gold medal in the men's 68kg category at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) is a story of unexpected turns and meaningful encounters.
Putera Arsyad's taekwondo career kicked off when he was just 14, after a chance meeting with a Thai taekwondo coach, Kongpol Khoomkrong, at a 'pasar malam' (night market) in Kuantan.
The now 18-year-old, who stands at a towering 1.93m, credits that fateful meeting with setting him on the path to serious training and sharpening his skills.
"I started taking taekwondo seriously in Form Two. Before that, I'd been practising since I was six, but I wasn't really into it. Then, when I was 14, I was wandering around a night market, and out of nowhere, this coach from Thailand came up to me and started chatting.
"At that time, I didn't quite understand what he was trying to say because of the language barrier, but enough to understand that he wanted me to give taekwondo a shot.
"From that moment on, everything just fell into place. I never imagined I'd end up here," he said when met at the Unity Stadium here.
Recalling their first encounter, Kongpol recalled how determined he was to convince Putera Arsyad, who was with his aunt at the time, to try out taekwondo at the Pahang Sports Council the very next day.
The Bangkok-born coach admitted it was Putera Arsyad's remarkable height that first caught his attention and inspired him to train the young athlete.
"The first thing I noticed was his height. He was only 14 but already close to 1.90m tall. That was the clincher for me. I knew I wanted to turn this kid into a taekwondo athlete. I wanted to take him from a complete unknown to the athlete you see today.
"I also made a promise to his mother that if he trained with me, I'd make him a national athlete within four or five years," Kongpol, who has been coaching in Pahang for seven years, said.
Kongpol is now focused on pushing Putera Arsyad to his full potential, with hopes of turning him into one of the world's best taekwondo athletes.
"My plan for him starts with the Sea Games, then the Asian Games, Asian Championship, World Championship and finally, the Olympics. He's got the physical attributes, but he needs more experience to really grow.
"I'm 100 per cent sure he can become a top athlete on the world stage. He's more prepared than anyone else. He's tall, strong and has great family support. But ultimately, it's up to him
"I am absolutely 100 per cent sure he can be a world top athlete, he is ready more than anybody, he is tall, got physical, family support, everything he already ready but the one is himself," he said.
Yesterday, Putera Arsyad's long legs proved to be his secret weapon as he snagged gold, delivering Pahang's first taekwondo gold medal at the Games.
In a thrilling final, he used his reach to maximum advantage, scoring crucial points to edge out home favourite Joseph Wong in a 2-1 victory. – BERNAMA