It was an icing on the cake for national bowler Rafiq Ismail to cap off a stunning 2018 after being named the new Anugerah Jagoan Nadi Arena (AJNA) winner.
The 21-year-old received 52.04 per cent of the total votes to beat the other shortlisted athletes — Azizulhasni Awang (track cycling), Ridzuan Puzi (para-athletics), Goh Jin Wei (badminton) and Syarul Azman Mahen Abdullah (bodybuilding) — to the honour.
Azizulhasni (12.78 per cent) came second, followed by Goh (17.16 per cent), Ridzuan (11.37 per cent) and Syarul Azman (6.64 per cent).
Rafiq was the second-ever AJNA winner after national diver Cheong Jun Hoong took home the award last year.
"I would like to thank Astro Arena for organising this award.
"I also would like to thank the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC), the National Sports Council (NSC) and the National Sports Institute (NSI).
"Lastly, I would like to thank all the voters for their support for me over the years," he said after receiving the award.
In 2018, the Kuala Lumpur-born bowler had a successful outing at the 2018 Asian Games, defending the country's silver medal in the men's trio event and winning gold in the men's masters event, before becoming Malaysia's first world bowling champion in 39 years in December.
"The whole Astro Arena team hopes that the award will inspire Rafiq and every finalist to produce greater performances on the international level," said Ahmad Khawari Isa, Managing Editor of Astro Arena.
40 per cent of the total scores were decided by the public vote via Astro Arena's digital platforms, while the remaining 60 per cent were determined by national sports associations and media representatives.
Seng Foo Lee
Sun Jan 20 2019
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