KUCHING: "Performance comes first, money comes later."
That's the view of Sarawak athlete Jonah Chang Rigan, who is more focused on bringing glory to his home state in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) rather than the rewards.
After winning the men's shot put gold on Monday, Jonah went on to dominate the discus today.
Despite competing in rainy conditions, the 21-year-old from Sarikei cleared 46.16 metres for the gold. Negri Sembilan's William Reiss Ling finished second with 44.77m while Perlis' Rizad Azri Che Radzi was third with 41.42m.
With his two-gold success so far, Jonah is in line for a total of RM30,000 in reward. The Sarawak government offers an incentive of RM15,000 for each individual gold won by the state's athletes.
Jonah also has the opportunity to add to his monetary haul as he eyes the hammer throw gold on Friday.
However, Jonah, said he is not keen on talking about the reward money although it does help to motivate athletes to some extent.
"Many people talk about the money but not about my performance. So, I don't like that.
"I'm here to fight for Sarawak. I believe if our performance is excellent, the rewards will come," he added.
Jonah said some athletes were hesitant to compete today in the discus due to the rainy weather, but he encouraged them to fight for their respective states.
"Many were actually afraid to compete in the rain. They were worried about slipping or falling... but you can't think like that.
"We just need to focus on the technique, and it will definitely go far," said Jonah, who was relieved that the pain in his shoulder, during the shot put event, has lessened after treatment.
Meanwhile, the women's 10,000m race walk saw Federal Territories' Kok Hui Ying win gold with a time of 57 minutes 41.79 seconds. Perak's P. Kaarthiyani finished second (58:09.69s) while Kedah's Nur Damea Balqisya Mohd Idzwan was third (58:38.80s).