Shah alam: A hip injury sustained a month before the 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) did not stop Penang wushu athlete Wee Din Jun from ending his final appearance at the Games on a high note after winning gold in the men's nandao nangun event today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the 21-year-old athlete scored 9.600 points to edge Sarawak's John Phang, who took silver with 9.563 points, while Selangor's Tan Yu Zhe won bronze with 9.550 points in the competition held at the Ideal Convention Centre (IDCC) Shah Alam.

More significantly, the victory came after Din Jun endured a roller-coaster journey in his two previous SUKMA appearances. At the 2022 edition in Kuala Lumpur, he won bronze before returning from SUKMA 2024 in Sarawak without a medal after making several mistakes in the three events he competed in.

'I am very excited and happy to finally win a medal. At my second Games, I was very disappointed after making several mistakes and failing to win a medal. But this time, my coach told me to stay calm and enjoy the performance. I did not want to think about anything else, but instead focused only on performing to the best of my ability,' he told Bernama.

The Bayan Lepas-born athlete said the victory was particularly meaningful as he had always wanted to prove that he could win a gold medal at SUKMA. He also dedicated the achievement to his former coach, who has since returned to China, after being unable to present him with a medal at the previous editions.

Din Jun will now shift his focus to the nanquan event tomorrow, as he seeks to round off his final SUKMA appearance with another memorable achievement.