SHAH ALAM, Sept 10 - Even though he was tipped to win, Muhammad Farhan Norhayalim refused to take the competition lightly before ultimately clinching the 2026 Para SUKMA gold medal for his wife and newborn child.
Farhan, who competed in the Men's Individual Rapid Chess B1 event, said that the success came after going through rigorous preparations which saw him sacrificing a lot of family time to ensure that his level of play was at its best.
He said one of the main challenges throughout this competition was to maintain consistency in the game starting from the opening, semi-finals to the final stage.
"Strictly speaking, on paper I was the clear champion, but today I feel that many other states are giving their all.
"I have won 11 games in a row, the last one was the only one I lost, but I got a draw," he said.
Farhan said that preparing for this game also required great sacrifices when most of his time was spent on training, apart from facing reduced rest periods.
"I sacrificed a lot of time to prepare for the SUKMA. I spent a lot of time training and my rest was also quite short," he said.
This victory for Farhan is made sweeter as he dedicated it specifically to his wife and newborn child.
"This victory is for my wife and child who was born last May," he said.
