SELANGOR: Sarawak’s women’s water polo team kept their composure when it mattered most to beat hosts Selangor 12-10 and claim a historic SUKMA gold today (Aug 17).
The victory at the Darul Ehsan Aquatic Centre secured Sarawak’s first-ever women’s water polo gold at the Malaysia Games (SUKMA), with captain Sara Tham crediting the team’s composure and strong bond for seeing them through the tense closing stages.
“I feel very elated, so happy,” said Sara, adding that the final minutes were particularly challenging.
She said the players knew they had to remain calm and stick to their game plan when the match became increasingly erratic.
“Everything was sort of erratic, and what we wanted to do was calm the team down, focus, and not make a lot of mistakes.
“We just wanted to stay very cool, very calm, and we know what we have and carry out our plan,” she said.
Despite the pressure, Sara who was part of the national team at the 2025 SEA Games said there was never any doubt within the team that they could see out the victory.
“No, there was not. We knew that we would make mistakes. I mean, that’s inevitable in a game, you will make mistakes.
“But if we made a mistake, we knew that we had to cover for it, and we just took it one step at a time,” she added.
Sara also praised the camaraderie within the squad, saying the players’ close relationship had been crucial throughout their campaign.
“I think that the camaraderie in the team is very strong. All of the girls, we bonded really well.
“There is no clique or anything. All of us get along really well, so that really helped us because we’re not divided. We’re all very united as a team,” she said.
The gold medal marked a memorable return for women’s water polo, which made its comeback to the SUKMA programme after a 13-year absence.
After the celebrations, Sara said the team deserved to enjoy themselves after spending much of the tournament in a routine of training and rest.
“I think we’re going to go celebrate. We’re going to go out and have a good dinner because every day is just hotel, pool, hotel, pool.
“So we’re going to go out and ride this high,” she said.
