PHNOM PENH: Although he was born with a deformity in his right leg, it did not discourage Mhd Amin Burhanuddin (rpt: Mhd Amin Burhanuddin) from being involved in the world of badminton since the age of 10.
The 31-year-old athlete has a right leg defect called ‘right ciev with surgical intervention/SL4’ and had to undergo surgery at birth which caused him to use crutches until he was seven years old.
Two years later after the cement plaster in Mhd Amin’s right leg was opened, he was able to balance his body without the aid of tools to move freely in his residential area in Labuan.
“I was born with a deformity in my right leg so I had to undergo foot surgery which had to be in cement until the age of seven. My family was really interested in badminton so from there I became keen in participating.
“It was only at the age of 10 that I started holding a racquet when I got my balance after opening the cement on my right leg and started following family members to a nearby hall for recreation,“ said the fourth of six siblings.
Mhd Amin, however, said that a lack of knowledge about how to get clarification to become a para athlete caused him to only start playing on the international stage when he was 14 years old.
Refusing to look back, he continued to move forward with the support of his family, especially his second eldest brother, Sahbudin Burhanuddin, 40, who always supported him to be actively involved in the sport when he was first selected in the national programme last year.
“When I entered the court there was a doctor who told me I was talented in badminton. So he told me how to get classification at the hospital.
“But at first I only trained with my family, especially my second eldest brother. If I’m lazy to go down (to he court), he will insist that I go,“ he said.
The Sabah-born para shuttler who only won a bronze medal in the last edition in Solo, Indonesia is now just one step away from taking revenge to win the gold medal in the men’s SL4-(physical disability) individual final at the Asean Para Games (APG) 2023 here tomorrow.
Ranked 20th in the world, he defeated Freddy Setiawan from Indonesia in straight sets 21-12 and 21-14 in the semi-finals.
Mhd Amin will be up against Indonesia’s Hikmat Ramdani in tomorrow’s final.
Touching on his clash tomorrow, he said he was ready physically and mentally to upset the second-seeded player.
“On paper, I am far behind (Hikmat) but I will still try my best,“ he said. – Bernama
