PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s little ice princess Sree Abirame Chendren stayed hot on ice as she outperformed all her South Korean rivals to win the gold medal at the President Cup championship in Busan, her second straight victory in the tournament.
Despite a small slip during her jumps, she scored 39.92 to lift the Korean club championship title over the second placed homester who managed 38.62.
Abirame, representing Team Jewels Academy Gimhae in the novices intermediate class, had also won the title in the novice beginners class last year. It was the second title this year for the Malaysian girl, who has been training in Gimhae since February 2023.
She had also won the Gimhae Open Figure Skating trophy in January this year.
Despite the victory, Abirame was not too happy with her performance. “I was one of the later contestants in the rink. By then, the ice had worn out and was slippery. But that is no excuse.
“I believe I could have done better,” she said in a phone interview from Gimhae.
“My coaches have also told me to focus more on my jumps.”
It was during one of the jumps that she slipped and seemed to fall but made a quick recovery to impress the judges.
Her father, Chendren Balakrishnan had no complaints, though. “The Koreans are all very good. They have many champions, and I was only hoping for a top-five finish. The gold medal is very satisfying,” he said.
Abirame is now studying at a sports school in Korea and she was the only non-Korean participant in the competition.
Source Agencies
