PETALING JAYA: Aruwin Salehhuddin doesn’t should look far for inspiration in the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The 17-year-old can have her Olympian father proper beside her as she makes her debut in the ladies’s big slalom and slalom occasions on Feb 7 and Feb 9 respectively on the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.
Can’t be prouder: Salehhuddin and Aruwin standing exterior the stadium in Beijing.
Her dad Salehhuddin Ayob is the Malaysian contingent’s workforce supervisor and had competed on the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in canoe and kayak.
The different competitor in the workforce is 23-year-old Jeffrey Webb, who will compete in males’s slalom on Feb 16.
Aruwin and Jeffrey had been the flag bearers in the course of the opening ceremony yesterday.
Salehhuddin was pleased with his daughter’s rise in the game.
“I’ll always do my best to become a role model for my daughter,” mentioned Salehhuddin, who has a level in political science from Kent State University.
Aruwin grew up watching her dad commit his time in canoeing and kayaking throughout his college days.
He took up the sports activities whereas finding out on the college in 1988 and took half in a number of World Cups from 1995-2000 and his final achievement was representing Malaysia on the Atlanta Games.
Speed demon: Aruwin in motion in the course of the FIS National Junior Races held in December in Cortina, Italy.
“My daughter took up skiing when she was five. She has worked hard and sacrificed much to be here. My wife (Siti Alphiah Tunggal) and I are proud of her,” he mentioned.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria mentioned: “On behalf of the OCM, I would like to express our utmost appreciation to Salehhuddin and Aruwin for their great contributions towards the Olympic movement in Malaysia.
“The great Olympic values demonstrated by both father and daughter are extraordinary and second to none in sporting history of Malaysia.”
Moira Tan, who’s the OCM’s assistant secretary and the Games’ chef de mission, mentioned: “I believe that the sportsmanship as demonstrated by this unique family will continue to inspire many parents with young athletes to pursue their dreams of competing in the Olympics.”
