KUCHING: Federal Territories (FT) rhythmic gymnast Cassidy Tan put on a mesmerising performance filled with graceful, coordinated and creative movements to steal the hearts of the judges and clinch the individual all-around gold medal at the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma) today.
The 13-year-old also captivated the crowd at the Kuching Borneo Convention Centre en route to accumulating the highest overall score in her first Sukma appearance with 104.900 points for all four apparatus — hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon.
"I never imagined I'd get gold for Sukma because I just focused on my performance and to make my coach proud. So, this (win) is unexpected as I just did my best," she said after delivering FT's second gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics.
Cassidy, the youngest of two siblings, was clearly in a class of her own when she topped three of the four disciplines, scoring 26.950 points for hoop, ball (26.650 points) and ribbon (25.250 points).
FT's Nur Zhafirah Wong Rudy Kurniawan (104.20) took silver while Negri Sembilan's Dhaffatul Nurbaiti Harman (92.95) settled for bronze.
Meanwhile, Nur Zhafirah hopes to mark her final Sukma appearance by getting on the podium in the individual events, which begin tomorrow.
"This is my last Sukma, so I just want to enjoy myself on the carpet and, at the same time, win a medal or two. I will be competing in the clubs and hoop apparatus tomorrow," she said, adding that those two are her pet events.
Yesterday, the FT squad, comprising Nur Zhafirah, Cassidy, Rhea Dhaliwall and Ru-Zanne Sui, showed their class by bagging the team all-around gold medal. – BERNAMA
TAGS: rhythmic gymnastics, Federal Territories, all-around individual, ribbon, clubs, hoop, ball