| Universiti Putra Malaysia

Three UPM students represent Malaysia at Rio 2016 Olympics


By: Faten Syahira Syakrein
Photo by: Marina Ismail


SERDANG, July 21 – Three national athletes who are students of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) have been picked to represent Malaysia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, from August 5 to August 21.

They are Jonathan Wong Guanjie who is Bachelor Engineering (Aerospace) student from the Faculty of Engineering, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli (Bachelor of Education (Physical Education) from the Education Faculty) and Bachelor of Communication student, Cheong Jun Hoong, from the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication (FMBK).

Jonathan Wong, 24, will be representing Malaysia in the shooting events of 10 meter Water Pistol and Men’s 50 meter Pistol; Zaidatul Husniah (athletics 100-meter event); and Cheong (diving).

For Jonathan Wong, his selection to the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, is an achievement beyond his expectation and he will do his best to excel in the international sports arena.

"If in the past I only practised half-time, now having been chosen to represent the country in this prestigious sports event, I will go on doing intensive training so that I will be more focused. In a day, I make it a point to train at least five or six hours,” said the Melaka-born athlete.

Zaidatul Husniah, 23, said at first, she did not put high hope in representing the country in the 100-metre event at the Olympic level due to stiff competition.

"I had to compete with friends to pass the 11.6s eligible time which is a condition set by the Malaysian Athletic Union (MAU) in order to qualify for Olympics," he said.

The Alor Star-born athlete, recently won a gold medal in the 100-meter event at the Asean University Games (AUG) 2016 in Singapore.

Cheong, 26, who hails from Ipoh, Perak will be competing in three events - 3 meter Synchronized Spring Board, 3 meter springboard and 10 meter platform individual rhythmic – UPM.


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