The Astro Arena team took home three awards from the 2019 Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) Awards held on Tuesday.

Arena reporter Bazly Azmi won in the Best Special Report category with his short documentary done with cameraman Azri Abdul Malik, The Curse of the Belly Flop.



The submission, which focused on Malaysian diver Loh Zhiayi after she injured herself with a belly flop in 2017, also saw him scoop the prestigious Siebel Award as the best overall winner of the annual event.

It was Bazly's third time winning the top gong named after first SAM president Norman Siebel — he previously won it in 2016 and 2017.

Fellow Arena colleagues Zulhelmi Zainal Azam (journalist) and Syafiq Sufian (cameraman) also bagged an award in the Best Sports Review category for electronic media.

At the same ceremony, the SAM named cycling hero Azizulhasni Awang and powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau as the best athlete and para-athlete of the year respectively.