Aaliyah hopes to hit a high Down Under in Moomba Masters

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 -- Teenager Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is all set to restart her waterskiing career after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 18-year-old, who last competed in the 2020 Moomba Masters in Melbourne, Australia before the pandemic halted all waterskiing activities, left for Down Under yesterday to compete in the 2022 edition of the championships from March 9-14.

Aaliyah, who was recently awarded the Yayasan Sime Darby Star Scholarship Award, is one of the world’s top-ranked waterskiers invited to the week-long Moomba event, which coincides with the annual Moomba Festival.

The Malaysian, who made her debut in the 2013 Moomba Masters at the tender age of nine, is set to compete in the tricks, slalom and jump events in both the junior and Open categories.

“I am very happy with my preparation for the Moomba event and I am really looking forward to it,” said Aaliyah, who bagged the junior category tricks gold in 2020.

“Two years has been a long time and, coincidentally, my last tournament was also the Moomba in 2020. I definitely hope that I am not competition rusty after being out of it for so long,” she said in a statement.

As this will be Aaliyah’s last year in the junior event, she is hoping to go out with a bang and has set her sights on the top prize in tricks and overall, besides targeting a podium finish in the jump event.

For the Open category, the youngster is aiming for a top-five finish in the tricks event, with her previous best being a seventh placing.

-- BERNAMA