Putrajaya: National women’s badminton doubles pair Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei were honoured as the Education Ministry’s (KPM) most outstanding athletes for 2013-2014 yesterday.
Vivian and Woon, each received RM27,000 for their effort in delivering a gold medal at the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013, two gold medals in the doubles and team events at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland as well as a bronze medal in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Based on the latest rankings issued by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Vivian and Woon are now ranked 21st in the world.
Speaking to reporters, Vivian said the incentive would spur them to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“Thanks to the ministry for the award today which is the biggest award I have receives so far. Woon and I will prepare hard to do well in various tournaments next year to gain qualification for the Olympics.
“I am very pleased in meeting the target of a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games this year,” said Vivian, a final year sports science student at Universiti Malaya.
Concurring with Vivian, Woon said they needed to stay even more focused and train harder to qualify for the Olympics.
“We are very glad with our outings this year and winning the KPM award is an additional incentive for our future performance,” said Woon, a coursemate of Vivian at Universiti Malaya.
The Education Ministry allocated RM613,000 to reward outstanding athletes of institutions of higher learning in world championships as well as major sporting events for 2013-2014.
Apart from the national women’s doubles pair, other recipients of the incentive were national diving queen Pandelela Rinong (RM23,500); karate exponent, Lim Chee Wei (RM21,000) and diver, Cheong Jun Hoong (RM17,500).
The awards were presented by the ministry’s deputy secretary-general Datuk Nasir Mat Dam. — Bernama
