KUALA LUMPUR — Men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and bodybuilder Datuk Mohd Syarul Azman Mahen Abdullah are seen as the top picks for the Best Athlete Award at the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100PLUS Awards 2022 ceremony tomorrow night.
Aaron-Wooi Yik created history when they became Malaysia’s first world champions by emerging victorious in the 2022 World Badminton Championships when they defeated Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan in the final last year, which also saw them scoop the 2022 Sportsman of the Year award.
Mohd Syarul Azman, who is better known as Mike Mahen, clinched the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships for the fifth time in Phuket, Thailand last December in the 167cm and above athletic physique category and is hoping to emulate the feat of Sazali Samad, who is the last bodybuilder to have won the top SAM award in 2013.
After winning his first title in 2016, the 50-year-old Mike Mahen repeated that triumph in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
He missed out on the title in 2021 after the championship was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Aaron-Wooi Yik and Mike Mahen can expect a tough fight from World Amateur Snooker Championship winner Lim Kok Leong, Birmingham Commonwealth Games men’s 55kg weightlifting gold medallist Muhammad Aniq Kasdan and gymnast Ng Joe Ee, the winner of two gold medals at the same Games and the 2022 Sportswoman of the Year.
Shuttler Cheah Liek Hou and powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Gustin are set to be the frontrunners for the Best Para Athlete 2022 award, with Nani Shahiera Zawawi (athletics) and swimmers Brenda Anellia Larry and Carmen Lim also shortlisted.
Liek Hou, who remained unbeaten en route to claiming the world para badminton title for the seventh time last season and who also emerged triumphant in the World Para Badminton Championships last November, is the red-hot favourite to be crowned Best Para Athlete.
But the 24-year-old Bonnie is no pushover, having lived up to expectations by breaking the Commonwealth Games record with a lift of 220kg en route to clinching gold in Birmingham.
SAM said in a statement today that both the 2022 Best Athlete and Best Para Athlete winners will each receive a cash prize of RM10,000 along with a trophy at the ceremony tomorrow, which will be attended by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
The SAM-100PLUS 2022 Awards ceremony will also honour sports journalists, with six categories contested – Best News Report (Print Media), Best News Report (Electronic Media), Best News Commentary (Print Media), Best News Commentary (Electronic Media), Best Special Report (Open) and Best Sports Photography.
SAM has also introduced the Most Popular Sports Commentor award this year, with the winner to be decided based on the most votes cast online from August 22 to 27.
The overall best winner for the sports journalism category will be crowned the recipient of the Siebel Award with a cash prize of RM7,000 and a trophy. — August 28, 2023