KUCHING: Tennis players Mitsuki Leong Wei Kang and Sharifah Elsa Wan Abdul Rahman marked their final Malaysia Games (SUKMA) campaign by winning the men’s and women’s singles gold medals at the SLTA Tennis Court here.
Professional player Mitsuki of Perak won the gold by defeating teammate Daniel Leong Prickett 6-1, 6-4 while Darrshan Suresh Kumar of Federal Territories (FT) took bronze by downing teammate Leroy Nan-Er Yong 4-2 (rtd).
Mitsuki admitted that the young players from other states have improved and are ready to play at a more competitive level in the future.
“I’m pleased to have contributed a medal in my final appearance at SUKMA 2024. Overall, my opponents here have a bright future in tennis. We can see many talented youngsters. Hopefully, they will continue to progress,” he said.
Mitsuki and his sister Shihomi Leong Li Xuan will compete in the mixed doubles semi-finals today. The final will also be held today.
Meanwhile, Sharifah Elsa of Selangor stunned the fancied Shihomi 6-1, 6-1 in the women’s final while Terengganu’s Anja Samia Nayar did not even have to lift her racquet for the bronze after her opponent, Nao Phang ZIyi of FT withdrew.
The 20-year-old Sharifah Elsa, who has competed in five editions of SUKMA, said she is happy to have finally contributed a gold medal for Selangor, especially by beating top seed Shihomi.
“Shihomi is very strong, physically and mentally, so I just gave it my everything on the court. I just focused on winning… I won bronze in the 2016 edition and now, finally, I have the gold medal,” she said.
