SUKMA 2026: Muhammad Dhuha Opens Athlete-of-the-games Bid With 200m Freestyle Gold

SHAH ALAM, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Federal Territories swimmer Muhammad Dhuha Zulfikry got his 2026 Selangor Malaysia Games (SUKMA) campaign off to a flying start by winning the men's 200-metre (m) freestyle gold today, signalling his early bid for the Athlete of the Games title.

The victory at the Selangor Aquatic Centre marked a springboard for the 18-year-old swimmer, who is on a mission of 'redemption' after missing out on the prestigious award at the previous edition in Sarawak two years ago.

"Actually, for this year's SUKMA I don't expect much. I just target to be the Athlete of the Games for this year's SUKMA because at the previous SUKMA I didn't get the chance to win the award, so I need the redemption," he told reporters after receiving his medal here today.

For Muhammad Dhuha, the Athlete of the Games title is not merely an award but a personal ambition he most wants to achieve in his third appearance at SUKMA.

Recalling his disappointment at SUKMA 2024, he had previously delivered an outstanding performance by winning six gold and two silver medals and breaking four Games records, but the achievement was still not enough for him to be crowned the best male athlete.

The title went to Selangor swimmer Andrew Goh, who won five gold medals, two of them with national records in the 100m breaststroke (1:01.39s) and 50m breaststroke, clocking 28.03s in the heats and 27.40s in the final to surpass the 27.56s SEA Games record set by Indonesian swimmer Felix Viktor Iberie at the 2023 edition in Cambodia.

Aware of the stiff competition for the award, Muhammad Dhuha has mapped out a packed schedule by entering six more individual events.

In the 200m freestyle final, the silver medal went to Penang's Samuel Lai (1:52.34s), while Selangor representative Goh Li Jie took bronze (1:52.67s).

Overall, after the swimming events got underway, the Federal Territories have collected four gold medals, with the other three contributed by Cham Yu Xiang (men's 100m breaststroke), Isabelle Chiyi (women's 100m breaststroke) and Chong Xin Lin (women's 50m backstroke).

— BERNAMA