KUALA LUMPUR (JUNE 25, 2006): For the
last two years, the prestigious Sportswriters Association
of Malaysia (SAM) - 100PLUS 2005 award has gone to a male
athlete. Will that scenario change tomorrow night?
The past two winners have come from aquatics with diver Bryan
Lomas taking home the trophy last year and swimmer Alex Lim
Keng Liat the year before. Unfortunately, there isn‚t
a representative from their sport in this year‚s list.
The nominees this year see five female athletes squash world
champion Nicol David, lawn bowls world champion Nor Iryani
Azmi, SEA Games badminton doubles champions Chin Ee Hui-Wong
Pei Tty and pole vaulter Roslinda Samsu, who bagged the Asian
Championship bronze medal in Incheon last year apart from
landing the SEA Games gold medal with a record-shattering
leap.
The only thorn among the roses is gymnasts Ng Shu Wai., who
created history by winning four gold medals at the Philippines
SEA Games last year. He also rose 30 places to be ranked No.
8 in the world.
Many see the SAM-100Plus 2005 award as a two-horse race between
Nicol and Shu Wai, although there is a slight possibility
of Iryani splitting the votes.
Iryani, who played a pivotal role in the trio‚s event
when Malaysia captured the gold from the heavily favoured
Welsh team in this year‚s Commonwealth Games, is only
20-years-old.
The fact that she has captured a world title in a sport long
dominated by Europeans and Australians speaks volumes for
her.
Nicol too, has shown the world that Asians can excel in women‚s
squash and while she has recently slipped to No.2 in the world,
she is poised to dominate the sport for a long time to come.
So just who will emerge victorious? All will be revealed tomorrow
night. |
