By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Oct 1: In his bouts, the taekwondo kid from Lundu, Randy Owen Augustine Linggi, scored 7.80 points in the men’s individual recognised poomsae event to secure a gold medal for Sarawak.
Perlis’ Yeap Zhi Bin took the silver medal on 7.71 points followed by Johor’s Woo Jun Yi (7.71 points) and Perak’s Cheong Qi Yap (7.52 points) who settled for a joint bronze medal.
In the recognised poomsae mixed pair category, 19-year-old Randy and Seah Jing Ying took the silver medal on 7.97 points behind the Perlis team who clinched the gold medal on 8.34 points. Penang (7.79 points) and Federal Territories (7.66 points) shared the bronze medal.
Randy’s two other gold medals came in the team recognised poomsae and team freestyle events. The four-medal feat (three gold and one silver) earned this lad of Selako Rara (a Bidayuh subtribe) descent at least a cash incentive of RM50,000 as per the Sarawak government’s reward system — RM15,000 for gold, RM5,000 for silver and RM3,000 for bronze.
The triple medalist will use part of the money to cover his expenses at Bukit Jalil Sports School, Kuala Lumpur, while giving the rest to his parents who are farmers at Kampung Pasir Tengah, Lundu.
This year is a good year for Randy. Apart from his Sukma 2024 successes, he had also won a gold medal in the recognised poomsae mixed pair category and a bronze medal in the recognised poomsae individual category of the National Junior Championship 2024.
In the Canada Open this year, he clinched a gold medal in the recognised poomsae team event and a bronze medal in the recognised poomsae mix pair category.
Moreover, in the 2024 Asian Taekwondo Championships, he picked one more gold medal in the recognised poomsae team category.
Randy started displaying promise as a taekwondo star in 2023. In the 10th Taekwondo Malaysia Inter-club Taekwondo Championship that year, he took home the gold medal in the recognised poomsae individual category and the silver medal in the mixed pair category. These achievements earned him a place in the national team.
The journey
Due to his love for combat sports and inspiration from top national athletes he read about in the news, Randy started getting into taekwondo when he was 13 while a student at SMK Lundu.
“They seemed so cool. They got to travel places, performed in other countries and managed to get to the top. I want to be like them,” he enthused in an exclusive interview.
A year later (at 14), he represented his school in his first taekwondo competition. His agility and poise instantly caught the attention of judges. He was scouted and transferred to SMK Petra Jaya in Kuching for better coaching and training.
“Kuching has better facilities. I did’t have to practise on concrete floor which sometimes causes physical injuries,” he said.
Training at SMK Petra Jaya was six times a week (Tuesday off) and Randy showed steady improvement. For his winning performances that followed, he was recruited into the national team in 2023 where a new training regime (6am to 9am and 3pm to 7pm) became the daily routine.
The sessions were tough. He had thought about giving up but support and encouragement from family, teammates and coaches saw him through the down times.
With his sights set on national-level competitions as well as major regional meets such as the SEA Games and Asian Games, he was able to re-focus. But there were still trying moments to deal with.
“The worst were during the National Junior Championship 2022. It was an individual event. I did well in the first two rounds, scoring high points, but when the final round came and before I got into the ring, my leg was suddenly cramping. I couldn’t kick. My performance dipped.
“From top position, I dropped to No. 5 and lost my medal chance. I was so disappointed as I had been training so hard and all my training had gone down the drain.
“During that time, I just wanted to give up, to stop completely. But my family, teammates, coaches and friends all told me to hang on. It was a good, strong community support. I stayed back.”
Coach or oil palm farmer?
Though young, Randy is far-sighted and has a post-competition plan, knowing full well that athletes have a short competitive lifespan.
“I plan to set up my own taekwondo club in Lundu and Kuching and be a licensed coach. I hope to pursue this as a career. And if that fails, then I will become an oil palm farmer like my parents.
“Their land is not so big. I will help them develop it and perhaps buy more land to expand our farm. I don’t mind being a farmer — that will be my second option,” he said. — DayakDaily
