SINGAPORE: Silat exponent Nurul Suhaila Mohamed Saiful paused as tears well up in her eyes.
These were tears of joy, tears of overcoming adversity, tears of a SEA Games champion.
“So many years of doubting myself, getting the bronze three times was very hard for me. I spent a lot of time away from my family,” the 27-year-old told reporters after beating Malaysia’s Siti Shazwana Ajak 30-22 in the women’s Class E (65-70kg) tanding final.
This is Suhaila’s first Games gold.
“So this time, I wanted to make my parents proud and prove to them that the time away is worth it, it’s for me to grow, to be the best athlete that I can be. I hope my parents are proud of me.”
And there were many reasons to be proud for Suhaila and Team Singapore’s silat exponents as they would win three golds on their final day of competition on Monday (May 16).
This brings their total at the 31st SEA Games to four gold, 3 silvers and 4 bronzes – silat’s best showing at the SEA Games for Singapore. The previous best for Singapore’s silat exponents came in 2003 in Hanoi, when they won 3 gold medals.
Prior to the final day of competition, the silat team had already clinched one gold, one silver and four bronzes at the Games.
