The Best Of Both Worlds

By Y.P. SIVAM

metrospt@thestar.com.my

Photos by M. RAJAN

POLE-VAULTER Chuah Yu Tian’s involvement in sports had not hindered her efforts to excel in studies.

Yu Tian scored nine As to become Bukit Jalil Sports School’s (BJSS) top scorer in the SPM.

The Perak-born Yu Tian said, “I am happy with my results but I am not surprised. I had studied hard and my teachers had been very helpful.’’

Yu Tian hopes to pursue a degree in Sports Science.

Good job, girls!: BJSS teacher S. Yogeswari congratulating (from second from left) Sea Yeng, Hsi Theng and Yu Tian.

Another student volleyball player Tan Hsi Theng scored eight As and one B. Hsi Theng, who joined BJSS two years ago, said she was able to get excellent results in the SPM due to the guidance from the teachers.
“The principal (Marina Chin) has been a big inspiration. She had always stressed the importance of getting good grades in our exams.

“For me it is a big achievement and I am keen to pursue a degree in business administration,’’ said Hsi Theng.

Her teammate Kuck Sea Yeng, who is from Klang, Selangor, scored seven As.

High achievers: Dom (centre) with school principal Marina Chin (third from right) and the BJSS students who were rewarded for excellence in PMR.

Just like Hsi Theng, Sea Yeng wants to take up business administration and she hopes to receive a scholarship to pursue her studies.

“I am also looking at joining the matriculation programme and be based at BJSS,” said Sea Yeng.

Other BJSS students who scored in the SPM are — Shevon Lai Jemie (badminton, scored 6As); Yang Farha Farhani Fadzarahman (netball - 5As); Amir Ikhmal Zuhaimi (football - 5As); Nurul Adha Abu Bakar (netball - 5As); Teh Huei Hong (volleyball - 5As); Chan Wan Ran (badminton - 5As); Siti Nor Farhana Mustafa (netball - 5As); Mohd Fahme Zamzam Mehamad (athletics - 5As); Mohamed Hazrul Faiz Ahmad Sobri (hockey- 5As); Nurhidayah Idrus (volleyball - 5As); Ibrahim Aziz (football - 5As); Nur Syafazliana Mohd Ali (netball -5As); Lee Jin Ding (volleyball - 5As) and Muhammad Ariff Zulkifly (football - 5As).
BJSS SPM secretary S. Yogeswari said the students had proven that they were capable of excelling in both studies and sports.

“They have a tight schedule and have to train as well as study. We are pleased with their results,’’ said Yogeswari.

The Parent-Teacher Association of BJSS is expected to reward the students for their excellence in the SPM.
PTA president Datuk Dom Amy Hussain said they would like to see the students excel in both studies and sports.

During the recent PTA annual general meeting, five students — Durah Jasmin Abu Din, Mohamed Faizul Mohamed Lazim, Muhammad Humaidi Abdullah, Norezatti Shasha Mohd Rosli and Nurfazira Jalaludin — were presented with cash incentives for obtaining excellent results in the PMR.

100 Memorable Malaysian Women - Part 6

MARINA CHIN

Age: 55


IT was her combination of winsome looks and speed that made Chin such a star on the track and off it.


She was the national women’s 100m champion as well as a top hurdler in the late 1970s. During her career as a national athlete, she won seven SEA Games gold medals and a gold and two silver medals in the Asian track and field competition.


She is most remembered for winning both the 100m and 200m hurdles at the 1977 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.


She was further named Sportswoman for the Year two years in a row, 1976 and 1977.


Chin, who was actively involved with the National Sports Council to draw up strategies for athlete training, is currently the principal of the Bukit Jalil Sports School.


Appointed to the post in 2007, she is the first former national athlete to head the school.

DATUK M. RAJAMANI

AGE: 67

The “Queen of the Tracks” was the first Malaysian woman to win a gold medal in any sport at the Asian Games when she won the 400m in record time at the 1966 Games.

From 1964 to 1968, she also won seven gold medals in two SEA Games and represented Malaysia at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

Rajamani was awarded the coveted National Sportswoman of the Year Award two years in a row, in 1966 and 1967.

Following an accident at the age of 24 in 1968, Rajamani retired from athletics and took up coaching, and saw the emergence of sprint star Marina Chin under her guidance.

SHALIN ZULKIFLI

AGE: 33

Shalin Zulkifli started bowling at nine and in 1994, she became the youngest player and first Malaysian to win the Ladies Open of the Kent Malaysian All-Stars. This professional 10-pin bowler and former Asian number one has raked up numerous wins in national and international tournaments, winning the hearts of her countrymen.

She holds a degree in Sports Science that specialises in Sports Psychology and Coaching. Her latest project is the baby she’s expecting with her husband, Azidi Ameran. In fact, she was pregnant during the recent Asian Games in Guangzhou. The women’s team, led by Shalin, won one bronze medal.

SYLVIA NG

AGE: 61

Ng made history at the 1978 Commonwealth games in Edmonton, Canada, by becoming the first Asian woman to win the badminton singles gold, as well as the first Malaysian female athlete bag a gold in the history of the Games. She was also the only player to win a gold medal for the country at the 1975 SEA Games. She was honoured as Sportswoman of the Year twice, in 1975 and 1978, and won the national badminton champion title five times before she retired in 1980.

In 2004, Ng was inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia Hall of Fame.

JUDY CHENG-HOPKINS

AGE: 60

The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support is an ex-St George’s girl from Penang.

Cheng-Hopkins holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature from Beloit College in Wisconsin, a Masters in economic development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and diplomas from Universite de Haute, Bretagne in France and Harvard University.

She applied for a job with the UNDP and received her first posting to Africa in 1982 where she spent a decade in Zambia and Kenya.

From Africa, she was reassigned to the World Food Programme (WFP) headquartered in Rome where she headed the WFP for Asia, the former Soviet Union and the Balkans.

From 2006 to 2009, she was made Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, in charge of operations in over 118 countries.

On August 17, 2009, she was appointed to her present position by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a role she earned after having served 30 years in the UN in many different areas.

She is married to Dr Thomas Hopkins, a consultant in development work, and they have two daughters.

ROSE CHAN

AGE: 62 (DIED MAY 26, 1987)

It was a “wardrobe malfunction” that launched the career of the country’s bestknown striptease artiste. Her bra snapped and the audience went wild. At 27, she changed her dance routine to a striptease act and a Malayan legend was born.

Rose Chan’s real name was Chan Wai Chang. She was born in Soochow, China, in 1925 to acrobat parents and moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1931. She did not receive much schooling, and started work in a buttonmaking shop at 12. When she turned 16, she was married off to an older man for some cash and jewellery, all taken by her mother.

When her marriage broke down, she was left alone and penniless. She went to work as a cabaret dancer at The Happy World in Singapore, to spite her husband. She became an accomplished dancer, even winning a dance championship and a beauty contest.

She was now in great demand, dancing in several cabarets at a time.

She started her own touring show in Malaya. As the Striptease Queen, she pushed the boundaries even more, introducing more and more risque acts into her repertoire.

She became internationally famous. She was married four times.

In conservative Malaya, Chan often had to avoid arrest for contravening indecency laws.

By the 1970s, it had become impossible for her shows to go on. She performed her last striptease in 1976. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1983 and spent her last few years in Butterworth, Penang, leaving behind a husband, a son and three daughters.

MONA FANDEY

AGE: 45 (DIED NOV 2, 2001)

Her name is synonymous with black magic and murder most foul. She killed a politician in such a gruesome and spectacular fashion that it is almost the stuff of fi ction.

Mona Fandey was a self-styled bomoh who had lured Batu Talam assemblyman Datuk Mazlan Idris into her lair with promises of, presumably, political invincibility through the use of black magic.

Mazlan paid her RM500,000 and gave her 10 land titles as security for the remaining RM2mil “fee”. The ritual was set for July 6, 1993. Mona, her husband and her aide murdered and decapitated him and chopped his body into 18 pieces which they buried on their property. After that, the couple went on a shopping spree before the law caught up with them.

During the 65-day trial, Mona and her Rasputin-like eyes gained further notoriety when she appeared always fashionably dressed with bright red lipstick in court. She seemed to love playing to the gallery, smiling for the camera and the public developed a morbid fascination with her.

The trio was found guilty and sentenced them to death. They were hanged on Nov 2, 2001 at Kajang Prison, Selangor.

In 2006, a movie, Dukun, which was based on the sensational case was made, starring Umie Aida. But it was never released due to “sensitivities”.

DR HARTINI ZAINUDIN

AGE: 40s

Hartini Zainudin is well known for her work with marginalised children. She cofounded Rumah NurSalam, a 24-hour crisis centre for children under 18 in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. The centre provides abused, neglected, abandoned and trafficked children with basic needs and counselling and protection services.

The centre is a collaborative effort between Yayasan Salam Malaysia and the Department of Children’s Welfare, KL.

DATUK SHEILA MAJID

AGE: 46

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the career of Datuk Sheila Majid, or Shaheila Abdul Majid, the youngest of eight siblings.

She sang in her teens and released her first album Dimensi Baru in 1985. Many more albums followed, most notably Legenda in 1990.

She performed at the Tokyo Mysic Festival in Japan, the first Malaysian singer to penetrate the Japanese market. She is vastly popular in Indonesia as well, and held her 25th anniversary concert in Jakarta to sellout crowds.

In 2000, Sheila became the first Malaysian singer to perform with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Today, the mother of four who is still passionate about singing but has also become an entrepreneur, owning a spa, a rehearsal studio, Jerneh skincare products and an artiste management company.

JOANNA KAM POH POH

AGE: 37

Regarded by many as Malaysia’s funniest woman, Joanna Kam Poh Poh has been a comic for well over two decades. She started in the late 1980s when she had a comedy/ cabaret act in one of KL’s most popular night clubs at the time, the Boom Boom Room.

Joanne was known not just for her bold, bawdy humour but because of her size: she was a whopping 99kg at the time.

Now, 30kg lighter, she is still a riot and continues to perform and recently joined forces with Jit Murad and Bi Bi Kay Poh to stage The Real Comedy Queens.

WOOK KUNDOR

AGE: 108

Here was the ultimate “cougar”: centenarian Wook Kundor from Kuala Berang, Terengganu, who made headlines worldwide when she married Mohd Noor Che Musa, 70 years younger than her, in 2005. Wook Kundor claimed he was her 23rd husband.

Despite being separated for about a year while Mohd Noor underwent drug rehabilitation, the couple reunited last July. However, he was re-arrested a month later for a drug offence.

100 memorable Malaysian Women - Part 6

MARINA CHIN

Age: 55

IT was her combination of winsome looks and speed that made Chin such a star on the track and off it.

She was the national women’s 100m champion as well as a top hurdler in the late 1970s. During her career as a national athlete, she won seven SEA Games gold medals and a gold and two silver medals in the Asian track and field competition.

She is most remembered for winning both the 100m and 200m hurdles at the 1977 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

She was further named Sportswoman for the Year two years in a row, 1976 and 1977.

Chin, who was actively involved with the National Sports Council to draw up strategies for athlete training, is currently the principal of the Bukit Jalil Sports School.

Appointed to the post in 2007, she is the first former national athlete to head the school.

DATUK M. RAJAMANI

AGE: 67

The “Queen of the Tracks” was the first Malaysian woman to win a gold medal in any sport at the Asian Games when she won the 400m in record time at the 1966 Games.

From 1964 to 1968, she also won seven gold medals in two SEA Games and represented Malaysia at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

Rajamani was awarded the coveted National Sportswoman of the Year Award two years in a row, in 1966 and 1967.

Following an accident at the age of 24 in 1968, Rajamani retired from athletics and took up coaching, and saw the emergence of sprint star Marina Chin under her guidance.

SHALIN ZULKIFLI

AGE: 33

Shalin Zulkifli started bowling at nine and in 1994, she became the youngest player and first Malaysian to win the Ladies Open of the Kent Malaysian All-Stars. This professional 10-pin bowler and former Asian number one has raked up numerous wins in national and international tournaments, winning the hearts of her countrymen.

She holds a degree in Sports Science that specialises in Sports Psychology and Coaching. Her latest project is the baby she’s expecting with her husband, Azidi Ameran. In fact, she was pregnant during the recent Asian Games in Guangzhou. The women’s team, led by Shalin, won one bronze medal.

SYLVIA NG

AGE: 61

Ng made history at the 1978 Commonwealth games in Edmonton, Canada, by becoming the first Asian woman to win the badminton singles gold, as well as the first Malaysian female athlete bag a gold in the history of the Games. She was also the only player to win a gold medal for the country at the 1975 SEA Games. She was honoured as Sportswoman of the Year twice, in 1975 and 1978, and won the national badminton champion title five times before she retired in 1980.

In 2004, Ng was inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia Hall of Fame.

JUDY CHENG-HOPKINS

AGE: 60

The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support is an ex-St George’s girl from Penang.

Cheng-Hopkins holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature from Beloit College in Wisconsin, a Masters in economic development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and diplomas from Universite de Haute, Bretagne in France and Harvard University.

She applied for a job with the UNDP and received her first posting to Africa in 1982 where she spent a decade in Zambia and Kenya.

From Africa, she was reassigned to the World Food Programme (WFP) headquartered in Rome where she headed the WFP for Asia, the former Soviet Union and the Balkans.

From 2006 to 2009, she was made Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, in charge of operations in over 118 countries.

On August 17, 2009, she was appointed to her present position by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a role she earned after having served 30 years in the UN in many different areas.

She is married to Dr Thomas Hopkins, a consultant in development work, and they have two daughters.

ROSE CHAN

AGE: 62 (DIED MAY 26, 1987)

It was a “wardrobe malfunction” that launched the career of the country’s bestknown striptease artiste. Her bra snapped and the audience went wild. At 27, she changed her dance routine to a striptease act and a Malayan legend was born.

Rose Chan’s real name was Chan Wai Chang. She was born in Soochow, China, in 1925 to acrobat parents and moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1931. She did not receive much schooling, and started work in a buttonmaking shop at 12. When she turned 16, she was married off to an older man for some cash and jewellery, all taken by her mother.

When her marriage broke down, she was left alone and penniless. She went to work as a cabaret dancer at The Happy World in Singapore, to spite her husband. She became an accomplished dancer, even winning a dance championship and a beauty contest.

She was now in great demand, dancing in several cabarets at a time.

She started her own touring show in Malaya. As the Striptease Queen, she pushed the boundaries even more, introducing more and more risque acts into her repertoire.

She became internationally famous. She was married four times.

In conservative Malaya, Chan often had to avoid arrest for contravening indecency laws.

By the 1970s, it had become impossible for her shows to go on. She performed her last striptease in 1976. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1983 and spent her last few years in Butterworth, Penang, leaving behind a husband, a son and three daughters.

MONA FANDEY

AGE: 45 (DIED NOV 2, 2001)

Her name is synonymous with black magic and murder most foul. She killed a politician in such a gruesome and spectacular fashion that it is almost the stuff of fi ction.

Mona Fandey was a self-styled bomoh who had lured Batu Talam assemblyman Datuk Mazlan Idris into her lair with promises of, presumably, political invincibility through the use of black magic.

Mazlan paid her RM500,000 and gave her 10 land titles as security for the remaining RM2mil “fee”. The ritual was set for July 6, 1993. Mona, her husband and her aide murdered and decapitated him and chopped his body into 18 pieces which they buried on their property. After that, the couple went on a shopping spree before the law caught up with them.

During the 65-day trial, Mona and her Rasputin-like eyes gained further notoriety when she appeared always fashionably dressed with bright red lipstick in court. She seemed to love playing to the gallery, smiling for the camera and the public developed a morbid fascination with her.

The trio was found guilty and sentenced them to death. They were hanged on Nov 2, 2001 at Kajang Prison, Selangor.

In 2006, a movie, Dukun, which was based on the sensational case was made, starring Umie Aida. But it was never released due to “sensitivities”.

DR HARTINI ZAINUDIN

AGE: 40s

Hartini Zainudin is well known for her work with marginalised children. She cofounded Rumah NurSalam, a 24-hour crisis centre for children under 18 in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. The centre provides abused, neglected, abandoned and trafficked children with basic needs and counselling and protection services.

The centre is a collaborative effort between Yayasan Salam Malaysia and the Department of Children’s Welfare, KL.

DATUK SHEILA MAJID

AGE: 46

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the career of Datuk Sheila Majid, or Shaheila Abdul Majid, the youngest of eight siblings.

She sang in her teens and released her first album Dimensi Baru in 1985. Many more albums followed, most notably Legenda in 1990.

She performed at the Tokyo Mysic Festival in Japan, the first Malaysian singer to penetrate the Japanese market. She is vastly popular in Indonesia as well, and held her 25th anniversary concert in Jakarta to sellout crowds.

In 2000, Sheila became the first Malaysian singer to perform with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Today, the mother of four who is still passionate about singing but has also become an entrepreneur, owning a spa, a rehearsal studio, Jerneh skincare products and an artiste management company.

JOANNA KAM POH POH

AGE: 37

Regarded by many as Malaysia’s funniest woman, Joanna Kam Poh Poh has been a comic for well over two decades. She started in the late 1980s when she had a comedy/ cabaret act in one of KL’s most popular night clubs at the time, the Boom Boom Room.

Joanne was known not just for her bold, bawdy humour but because of her size: she was a whopping 99kg at the time.

Now, 30kg lighter, she is still a riot and continues to perform and recently joined forces with Jit Murad and Bi Bi Kay Poh to stage The Real Comedy Queens.

WOOK KUNDOR

AGE: 108

Here was the ultimate “cougar”: centenarian Wook Kundor from Kuala Berang, Terengganu, who made headlines worldwide when she married Mohd Noor Che Musa, 70 years younger than her, in 2005. Wook Kundor claimed he was her 23rd husband.

Despite being separated for about a year while Mohd Noor underwent drug rehabilitation, the couple reunited last July. However, he was re-arrested a month later for a drug offence.

February's Children

FULL MARKS FOR BJSS AS STUDENTS EXCEL IN SPORTS AND STUDIES

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a moment to cherish for Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) when two of their athletes – Yew Sook Ting and Katrina Ann Abdul Hadi – stood proudly among the top 10 best students honoured by the Education Ministry last year.

Sook Ting is a national volleyball player while Katrina is a synchronised swimmer and both emerged as top scorers in the 2009 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examinations respectively.

Their success epitomises the very foundation that the BJSS is build on – to help athletes reach for the sky in sports and studies.

But the juggling act is not something that came naturally for the 465 students of this school.

Class act: Under the committed group of BJSS teachers, the students have done well academically despite their heavy sports schedule.

After a hard and tiring day at the training field, athletes would look for ways to skip classes. Attendance too was poor due to heavy competition schedules and there was generally a glaring lack of interest and attentiveness among the students in class.

The mindset, however, has changed over the years, according to BJSS principal and former track queen Marina Chin.

“In fact, last year was a fantastic one for BJSS. We improved in all the Key Performance Index (KPI) areas by two per cent,” said a beaming Marina, a former national hurdler.

“Our students did well in sports, thanks to our better working relationship with the National Sports Associations (NSAs).

Time out: BJSS principal Marina Chin having a chat with (from left) netballer Norashikin Kamal Zaman, student head Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, Lee Wan Yin and Elaine Koon. Farah, Wan Yin and Elaine are national gymnasts.

“Some of our athletes also did well at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games last year. They are also big medal contributors at the SEA Games.

“Thankfully, under our committed group of teachers, the students also did well academically despite the heavy sports schedule last year.

“Usually, the parents send their children here because of their talents in sports. Now, they also look at this school as a place to attain sound education.”

BJSS vice-principal Suhaimi Sun Abdullah, who attends to the students’ affairs, hit the nail on the head when he spoke on the changes in the atmosphere of the school, saying in jest: “The students used to crawl to classes but now, they practically run.”

The students’ disciplinary record too is turning to be exemplary.

In fact, when a group of junior hockey players were reportedly bullied by their seniors, the school took immediate action.

Said Marina: “It was simply a case of the younger boys being disrespectful to the seniors. It was settled amicably.

“Those found guilty were suspended and had to miss a game. It was just one small incident that has been taken care of.”

The use of demerit systems and suspension from competitions seems to have kept the students on their toes and have taught them to respect and obey rules.

Marina said that the students in BJSS were also taught to channel their focus on both sports and studies.
“Yes, I would love to see all my students achieve great heights in sports and studies but I also believe in giving a child the right to choose,” she said.

“I keep reminding them that both sports and education are important.

“Sporting success makes one marketable and opens up a host of job opportunities. There was a Form Two boy who decided that his calling was in medicine and I had to let him go.”

The success of the BJSS athletes is also due to the good communication and great understanding shown by Marina and her team of teachers.

Rhythmic gymnast Elaine Koon was allowed to defer her Form Five examinations last year so that she could focus on the New Delhi Commonwealth Games.

The move paid dividends when Elaine bagged the gold medal in the hoop event.

Diving star Pandelela Rinong insisted that she wanted to sit for the SPM despite competing in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games and her teachers ensured that she was given the best assistance possible in her studies.

“We have to be flexible in the way we deal with the different athletes from different sports. Each athlete has his or her own needs. At the end of the day, we want only the best for them,” said Marina.

“We are happy that we continue to receive strong support from the Ministry, parents and the National Sports Council (NSC). This year, our goal is to produce more talents and champions both on the sporting and education fields.”

While BJSS may be heading on the right path in striking a balance in sports and studies, the same, however, cannot be said about other schools.

Asked to comment on the dwindling role of schools in promoting sports in all the states, Marina said: “Honestly, I think the schools are doing just fine. This is evident from the big number of entries in the national schools (MSSM) competitions.

“Times have changed and there are so many distractions, yet the schools have done their best to keep the interest going in sports.

“Every state has been allocated fund and land to start their own sports school. BJSS have limited seats and those who do not make it to this school will now have other options.

“Personally, I think we seriously need to look into those aged between 18-23 years old. Some of them do not know where to go after school to pursue their sporting careers.

“We are losing these talents because we are neglecting this age group.”

Marina firmly believes that schools can once again be the bedrock for Malaysian sporting talents if the right balance is given.

But, are the other schools ready for the job?

JANUARY'S CHILD

PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST SESSION 1/2011







Filling in form



Warming-up session

Sit-up station



Height & Weight Station

Standing Board Jump Station

Basketball Throw Station

30m Sprint Station

Shuttle Run 4 x 10m Station

Sit & Reach Station

Multi Stage Shuttle Run

UPCOMMING EVENT: PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST SESSION 1/2011

Date:   19 January 2011
Time : 7.30am ~ 1pm
Venue : Gym 2, NSC
Subjects:  KBSM Form 1 ~ 5

Testing Battery :   1. Basketball Throw
                          2. Standing Board Jump
                          3. Multi Level Sit-Up
                          4. Shuttle Run 4 x 10m
                          5. Sit and Reach
                          6. 30m Sprint (Flying Start)
                          7. Multi Stage Shuttle Run
                    

Muhd Ajmal Aiman Crowned The Best Overall Student

ATHLETE Muhd Ajmal Aiman Mat Hassan’s impressive results in international competitions won him the Best Overall Student award at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Young Olympian Night in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The youngster, who is also head prefect of the school, has developed into a promising athlete in the 110m hurdles.

He won gold medals in the Asean Schools Games (ASG), SEA Junior championships and Milo- Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) championships.

In the Asian Area qualifying meet and Malaysia Games (Sukma), Muhd Ajmal Aiman won silver medal and his bronze medal came in the Asian All Stars championships in India.

Proud moments: The winners with Maznah (centre), Chin (second from left) and Dom.

The Best Male Athlete award went to badminton players Nelson Heg Wei Kiat and Teo Ee Yi. Both were rewarded with the award for their outstanding results.

The duo were runners-up in the boys’ doubles event in the World Junior championships in Mexico; third in the Asian Junior championships; champions in the team and boys doubles in the ASG.

There was a close battle for the Best Female Athlete award between gymnast Elaine Koon and diver Pandelela Rinong.

Koon won a gold, silver and two bronze medals in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India while Pandelela won the gold medal in the 10m platform and silver in the 3m springboard in the Youth Olympics. Pandelela also won a gold and silver in the Commonwealth Games.

But in the end, Pandelela was named as the Best Female Athlete.

The Most Promising Male and Female athlete awards went to diver Abdul Rashid Muhammad and gymnast Lee Wan Nin respectively.

The Young Olympian Night was organised by the BJSS Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).Its president Datuk Dom Amy Hussain said they were pleased with the students excellent results in sports and education.

“The awards ceremony is the PTA’s appreciation for the students’ success in sports as well as education. We are also proud to see the students making an impact in the Common­wealth and Asian Games,’’ said Dom.

Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim’s wife Datin Seri Maznah Rais represented the Prime Minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, who is the patron of the BJSS PTA.

BJSS principal Marina Chin said the PTA had played a big role in providing morale support to the school.

The students displayed their showmanship with performance at the ceremony.

ROLL OF HONOUR

Best overall student: Muhd Ajmal Aiman Mat Hassan (athletics)

Best athlete (male): Nelson Heg Wei Kiat — Teo Ee Yi (badminton)

Best athlete (female): Pandelela Rinong (diving)

Most promising athlete (male): Abdul Rashid Muhammad (diving)

Most promising athlete (female): Lee Wan Nin (gimrama)

Special Awards: Tracie Ang (gymnastics); Mohd Fahme Zamzam Mehamad (athletics); S. Navinraj (athletics); Muhamad Ashraf Haiqal Muhammad Rizal (table tennis); Foong Foo Mun (wushu); Jupha Somnet (cycling); Muhd Arfy Qhairant Amran (cycling); Elaine Koon (gimrama); Lee Rou You (table tennis); Cheong See Teng (gymnastics); Amir Fakhrib Ismail (athletics); Nurul Adha Abu Bakar (netball); Nur Syafazliyana Mohd Ali (netball); Izyan Syazana Mohd Wazir (netball); Norashikin Kamal Zaman (netball); Noramirah Dayana Noor Azhar (netball).