July 18, 2024
SINGAPORE – Jutamas Jitpong bounces around the ring, eyes shielded by her gloved fists as she looks for an opening to land a jab. Her opponent lunges forward with a cross that is easily dodged.
For a split second, the lanky Thai boxer flashes a cheeky grin, before putting on a game face honed over the years in her hunt for an Olympic medal. No matter that this is a practice bout in the heart of Bangkok.
The 26-year-old daughter of rubber tappers, with the nickname of “Fave”, has waited three years to redeem herself. During the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she crashed out in the flyweight quarter-finals, losing 5-0 to Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu, who went on to win the silver medal. She cried when interviewed by the Thai media after the match.
Overcoming ADHD, Indonesian archer aims for Olympic glory
Indonesian archer Diananda Choirunisa. PHOTO: INDRA YOGA/THE STRAITS TIMES
Archery was never Diananda Choirunisa’s first love.
At the age of six, the girl who practised pencak silat regularly loved a good one-on-one fight.
But a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when she was eight changed her trajectory. A family shrink advised her to pick up a bow and arrow instead to improve her concentration and help her condition.
“I couldn’t focus on (just) one thing. I couldn’t play with just one toy. I had to have several at the same time,” said the 27-year-old, whose father was a national pencak silat athlete and mother was a national archer.
When life tumbles, Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo comes out stronger
Philippine gymnast Carlos Yulo. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
This time, Carlos Yulo has learnt to drown out the noise.
The Filipino gymnastics dynamo has been called many names in the past months – distracted, an ingrate, a two-time world champion who may have botched his chances of returning to the Olympics.
Life seemed to come tumbling down for him when he decided in 2023 to part ways with his long-time Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya, the man responsible for turning the soft-spoken 24-year-old into one of South-east Asia’s most bemedalled gymnasts.
Trailblazing cyclist Nur Aisyah wants to make her mark in Olympic debut
Malaysian cyclist Nur Aisyah. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
An hour before the start of any race, Malaysia’s road racing cyclist, Nur Aisyah Zubir, takes a few quiet moments to calm her nerves.
“I take time alone to relax and find peace. I recite a prayer and then listen to a song to warm up… My favourite song is Training Season by Dua Lipa,” she told the Straits Times.
Reciting prayers in Arabic, she prays for strength to persevere. And she soaks in the lyrics of the song to focus on the race.
In Paris, Nur Aisyah will be the first Malaysian woman to compete in road race cycling at the Games and she is gearing up not just for her debut, but also to inspire a new generation of women to pursue their Olympic dreams.