Izzah Amzan targets to shine in three major tournaments in 2022. — Picture courtesy of Instagram / Izzah Amzan
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — National rhythmic gymnast and 2019 Gold Sportsperson Award winner, Izzah Amzan,21, urges Malaysian parents to allow their children to engage in sports and not just solely focus on academics.
“Who said an athlete cannot study?
“In my school, Bukit Jalil Sports School, you can never underestimate a student-athlete as they are equally good as the bookworms”
“Try as best as you can to involve yourself in sports because it’s not just helping you to be healthy physically but also mentally.”
Izzah revealed that from sports, she learned the value of self-discipline and accepting defeats in order to perform better for victory
“Victory is like a bonus that pays off your hard work and dedication while losing is nothing.
“When I constantly fail, sometimes I feel like I am a failure but that’s what made me grow because I take that as a life lesson to be a better version of myself.”
She admitted it was quite challenging for her to maintain a balance between sports and academics as she is still undergoing her tertiary studies.
The gold award winner, who was a pre-university student in 2018 and took TESL, commended her mother, Zira Amzan, who has been a staunch supporter of her athletic career.
During a video conference with Malay Mail, she said that it was her mother’s desire to become an athlete, but she was not able to make her own wishes come true for various reasons.
Izzah said she is glad and delighted to be living her mother’s dreams of becoming an athlete and cited her mother as a role model.
“There’s no one else as supportive as my mum because she’s the reason why I’m still here and she’s the reason why I’m still doing what I’m doing now.
“Not to say that I’m doing this for my mom only but it’s also because of the passion I have for rhythmic gymnastics as I am not ready to leave this amazing sport and I believe it’s not the right time to do so.”
Izzah thanked the MOE, MILO-MSSM and all the coaches from the Bukit Jalil Sports School, as well as national and state coaches.
She acknowledged her elementary school teachers from SK Taman Universiti for encouraging her to participate in athletics, as she had been performing since primary school.
Izzah who is currently training in Azerbaijan for three weeks said that her whole team is looking forward to being at their best in the upcoming tournaments including Sea Games in Vietnam, Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and Asian Games in China next year.
Izzah joins in the growing list of exceptional Malaysian athletes such as Datuk Nicol David and Pandalela Rinong who have won The Gold Sportsperson Award before.
The presentation of the MOE-MSSM-MILO Sports Awards 2019 launched by Minister of Education, Datuk Dr. Radzi Jidin, which recognises excellence in 13 categories, was postponed for a year due to Covid-19.
Izzah, who received the award for her devotion to the Malaysian School Sports Council (MSSM) competitions in 2019, expressed her pride at being named one of the top-performing student-athletes to receive the rare honour from the Ministry of Education (MOE)
She said it has not been an easy path for her to get to this point in her life, as she had many ups and downs in her career and such recognition keeps her moving forward towards betterment.
“I feel very honoured to be one of the winners of the Anugerah Emas which was won by my friend in 2018, Aifa for squash and I think it’s an incredible recognition for athletes to boost their confidence and motivation to continue achieving.
“The challenges have always been about injuries and how I have to deal with them.
“I went through surgery this year for my left knee because I could not bear the pain anymore as I had injuries since 2016,” she said.