KUCHING, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- Despite being partially paralysed following a road accident five years ago, former national sepak takraw 'killer’ Muhammad Kamal Ishak’s passion for sports remains undiminished.
The 31-year-old, who used to compete in boccia and even won a gold medal at the 2022 edition of the Malaysia Para Games (Para SUKMA) in Kuala Lumpur, has turned to wheelchair table tennis representing Penang this time.
He was involved in an accident on the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) near the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) in Bandar Tasek Selatan, Kuala Lumpur in 2019, resulting in his being partially paralysed.
Muhammad Kamal, who hails from Bukit Mertajam, Penang, said one can never separate the spirit of sports from him despite that tragedy.
"Sports has always been a part of my life. I grew up playing sports. I studied at Sekolah Menengah Mutiara Impian… sports taught me a lot about life.
"When I have sports, I have a direction in life, a target… so I can continue to be on the right track,” he told Bernama after completing his table tennis fixtures at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (SJK) China Chung Hua No. 3 here today.
Muhammad Kamal, who also teaches in Bukit Mertajam, explained that he switched from boccia to table tennis because the BC5 (athlete diagnosed with conditions of cerebral and non-cerebral origin) category is not contested at Para SUKMA 2024.
He has been teaching since last year after obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
Earlier, Muhammad Kamal failed to make the quarter-finals of the men's singles wheelchair table tennis event after losing to both his Group C opponents, going down 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 7-11 to Kuala Lumpur's Nur Izhar Idham and 10-12, 12-10, 10-12, 11-13 to Terengganu's Mohammad Sobri Aripin.
Despite his failure to make the last eight, Muhammad Kamal said he won't give up and will continue to hone his table tennis skills.
"I hired a personal (table tennis) coach to train me. Although I lost today, I will not give up. I will make sure people know who I am next time,” he said.
Muhammad Kamal began representing the country when he was in Form Five when he competed in the ASEAN Schools Championships before taking part in the ASEAN University Games in 2015.
He also represented the senior national squad at the Thai King's Cup (sepak takraw) meet in Bangkok, Thailand in 2016, the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur and the Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018.
He won the gold medal in the quadrant event at the 2018 Thai King's Cup competition.
-- BERNAMA
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