Shah alam: A decision to represent Perlis at the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) Selangor 2026 has paid handsome dividends for ex-Johor kegler Nurul Aisyah Salleh, who created history by striking the state's first-ever bowling gold medal here, today.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Nurul Aisyah rolled 1,344 pinfalls in the women's singles event, securing her first-ever personal SUKMA gold medal on her third attempt. She outperformed home favorite Adania Mohd Redzwan, who recorded 1,306 pinfalls, while Nur Alya Qaisara Noor Fazemil of Perlis completed the podium finish for bronze with 1,287 pinfalls.
The 18-year-old, who had previously represented Johor in the 2022 and 2024 editions, shared her surprise at competing in this year's Games, having had to pause her bowling career to prepare for her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination last year. "Earlier, I took my SPM and had to stop for quite a while and couldn't play for Johor. Then the Perlis head coach (Nurzul Mubarak) offered me to play," she told reporters.
Nurul Aisyah expressed her gratitude to the coach and the Perlis State Sports Council for the opportunity. "I'm very grateful to the coach and the Perlis State Sports Council for giving me the opportunity to play in SUKMA this time. I feel happy to be able to donate a (gold) medal for Perlis after so long," she added.
Today's victory also marked a significant turnaround for Nurul Aisyah, who had previously experienced both success and disappointment in her SUKMA journey. She had claimed her only medal through the women's doubles event with Anis Hannani Romzi for Johor in the 2022 edition before returning home empty-handed in the last edition in Sarawak.
This triumph in her third SUKMA appearance was made even more remarkable as she had been nursing a waist injury sustained during the official practice session. "I remember that I might not be able to do my best for the singles event, however the physiotherapist helped a little last night," she said.
SUKMA Selangor 2026, which officially kicked off on Aug 15, will run until Aug 24.