From gold medalist to guava seller for axed athlete

Shukor Farhan Suliman (right) and Mohd Nur Syafiq Suhaimy at work at their roadside stall.

SHAH ALAM: Less than two years ago, Shukor Farhan Suliman was on top of the world, having won the gold medal in cycling at the 2017 Asean Para Games.

But today, the 22-year-old is a reluctant businessman, selling guava by the roadside.

Shukor, who also co-owns a small barbershop, was one of five athletes whose yearly contract was not renewed by the National Sports Council (MSN) last year.

He told FMT that MSN’s decision all but ended his career as a national athlete.

According to Shukor, MSN cited two reasons for ending his contract: his failure to win a medal in the 2019 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and problems with discipline.

“I admit to failing at the Asian Para Games,” he said. “My competitors included a world champion from China and an Olympic gold medallist from Japan.

“But I am unclear on the disciplinary issue. MSN says they have my disciplinary records, but I have never seen them. Was I not serious enough during training? As athletes, we want to win and we always give our all in training.”

Shukor Farhan Suliman’s moment of glory after winning the gold medal at the 2017 Asean Para Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Shukor said he never expected to retire from cycling at such a young age.

“I still have a hunger to serve my country,” he said, adding that he had represented Malaysia on the world stage since he was 17.

As a teenager, though, he said he had fallen for MSN’s “sweet talk”, so much so that he decided against sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or SPM examinations to focus on the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea.

“When I first joined MSN, I was promised the moon and the stars,” he said. “My coach advised me not to sit for my SPM as the examination was very close to the Asian Para Games.”

Shukor said he was comfortable as a regular citizen now but that the end of his contract had left him and his wife in financial difficulty as they are expecting a baby.

He added that being a career athlete was a high-risk job as any injury could mean the end.

His fellow athlete, Mohd Nur Syafiq Suhaimy, 27, knows this only too well.

Nur Syafiq’s contract was also terminated by MSN following an accident which left him with a broken leg just a day before the Asean Para Games in September 2017.

“They (MSN) said I could no longer perform. Where are their promises of giving me a job? They are now just promises,” he said.

“When my contract ended, that was it. There was no compensation or pension.”

Now, Nur Syafiq helps Shukor manage the guava stall in Shah Alam. He says he is willing to do anything to earn an income.

“I do anything as long as I can continue living in Kuala Lumpur,” he told FMT.

But he still has questions over the council’s decision not to renew the contracts of the five athletes.

“If five athletes do not get their contracts renewed, is it still their fault?” - FMT