Aaliyah Yoong, Malaysia’s waterski star

Free Malaysia Today

From crocheting to conquering the world stage, Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah balances life as a 21-year-old student and Malaysia’s reigning waterski queen.   Story by: Dinesh Kumar Maganathan  Shot by: Tinagaren Ramkumar  Presented by: Natasha Busst  Edited by: Hanis Sham   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/09/08/aaliyah-yoong-making-waves-and-breaking-records/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle #AaliyahYoong #WaterSki #Athlete

Transcript

00:00Alia Yong Hanifa broke the SEA Games record in the water ski tricks event today

00:04as she won Malaysia's 35th gold medal.

00:07The 11-year-old collected a total of 4,850 points

00:10to beat her own Games record set during the preliminaries yesterday.

00:14At just 21 years old, Alia Yong Hanifa has already made waves

00:19as Malaysia's water ski queen.

00:22But beneath the surface of her high-octane life

00:24lies a young woman who, in her downtime,

00:27finds solace in the simple pleasures of life, books, crochet, and...

00:33I like to play the guitar.

00:35My music taste is very broad, I feel.

00:37But right now, I'm really into reggae.

00:39Yet it's on the water where Alia truly feels at home,

00:43mastering jumps, tricks, and slalom with an unrivaled passion.

00:48She was only 8 years old when she won her first SEA Games gold medal in Indonesia.

00:58And I feel like I'm a really, like, adrenaline junkie.

01:01And I love to feel adrenaline,

01:02and I love to feel like I'm, you know, challenging myself and, like, taking risks.

01:06The feeling of being in the air and floating is just, like, really nice to me.

01:10It's a spirit that has driven her to extraordinary heights,

01:13including being the first Asian woman to win a bronze at the 2022 World Games in Alabama,

01:20and more recently, securing another bronze at the Muba Masters Championships 2024 in Melbourne.

01:27But Alia's journey isn't just about her triumphs.

01:30It's deeply rooted in a family legacy of athletic excellence.

01:35And her family remains her cornerstone,

01:38offering unwavering support, especially in challenging times.

01:42Her father, Hanifa Jung, is a national waterski coach,

01:47while her mother, Nurzila Sulayman, is part of the national team.

01:51They have been instrumental in her development,

01:53while her older half-siblings, racing legend Alex Yeung

01:57and waterski star Philippa Yeung, set the benchmarks she aspired to reach.

02:03We believe that if you want to be a world-class sports person,

02:07you've got to give them the best equipment, the best coaches,

02:13and they must train as often as they can.

02:17But at the same time, you need them to have fun,

02:21because if you cannot push them, if you push young people like that,

02:27once they don't like it, they will fail because they want to stop.

02:34Hanifa and his wife have been coaching Alia and her younger brothers,

02:38Aiden and Adam, since they were little, to prepare them for greater things in the sport.

02:44For sure, he was tough as a coach, but looking back at it,

02:48I'm quite grateful for that.

02:50My dad has definitely been the most influential person in my life,

02:54especially at the start of my waterski career,

02:56because he taught me, like I said earlier,

02:58he taught me resilience, respect, discipline, and really true sportsmanship.

03:02So he really knows how to assist me to becoming my best potential.

03:06Despite her rigorous training schedule,

03:08Alia manages to balance her athletic pursuits

03:11with her studies in psychology at Florida Southern College,

03:14where she's part of the waterski team.

03:17While her goal is to be a world champion,

03:20Alia also aspires to be a sports psychologist.

03:23What inspired me to actually take this course was

03:26Michel Gagne, he was our national sports psychologist.

03:29He really helped me with my tournaments.

03:31So I just wanted to help other athletes to do the same.

03:34Mental health is a really important thing.

03:37As she continues to soar off ramps, pushing the limits of what she can achieve,

03:42Alia isn't just chasing distances in the air,

03:45she's chasing her dreams.

03:47And with every leap, she's one step closer to reaching them.

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