BADMINTON player Evelyn Chee Yi Lyn and pole vaulter Jasmine Cheah Kar Munn have proven that students can excel in both studies and sports.
Both Evelyn and Jasmine, students at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), scored 9As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2011 examinations. Another badminton player Erica Khoo Pei Shan had 7As and 2Bs while artistic gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi settled for 5As.
BJSS principal Datuk Marina Chin said a total 100 students, from the school, sat for the SPM examinations last year.
Awesome foursom e: (from left) Farah, Jasmine, Erica and Evelyn celebrate with their SPM results.
“We had a record 100% passes and 10 students had 5As and more. The results are certainly encouraging and better than the previous year,’’ said Marina.
The 18-year-old Evelyn, who hails from Sungai Petani, Kedah, said her results were a pleasant surprise.
“I did not expect to score 9As. But I had studied well during weekends after a hectic six-day badminton training programme. My teachers had helped me a lot,’’ said Evelyn, who won the gold medal in the girls singles in the Asean Schools Games in Singapore last year.
The lanky lass aspires to an engineer but would love to continue to be active in badminton as well. She is looking forward to a scholarship to pursue a degree programme.
Jasmine, winner of the silver medal in pole vault in the 2012 Malaysia Games in Malacca, was also happy with her achievement in SPM.
“I did not have any problem dividing my time between athletics and studies. I followed the training programme by my coach Teh Weng Chang and also attended classes without fail,’’ said Jasmine.
Jasmine has a personal best of 3.20m and was a silver medal winner in the 2012 Malaysia Games in Malacca. She was also the gold medal winner in the Milo-Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) athletics championships last year.
Due to an injury, Jasmine, who hails from Kuala Lumpur, has taken a break from training. But she will resume training after securing a place in a higher learning institution.
Jasmine, a sprinter during her primary school days, aspires to be a doctor and hopes to get a scholarship to pursue her ambition.
“I will continue to be active in athletics,’’ said Jasmine.
The 18-year-old Erica, who is from Kuala Lumpur, was happy with her results in the SPM.
“The results are encouraging. I am keen to continue playing badminton at a higher level. My parents have left it to me make the decision,’’ said Erica.
Erica and her partner Chow Mei Kuan won the gold medal in the girls’ Under-18 doubles event in the MSSM championships last year. Erica was also a member of Malaysian team who won the team silver in the Asean Schools Games in Singapore last year.
For Farah it was quite tough as she was in Indonesia for the SEA Games, during the SPM examinations.
In the SEA Games, she won a silver medal in the uneven bars.
“I had to sit for some papers after the SEA Games,’’ said Farah, who was named as the Best Overall student of BJSS last year.
She is currently in training and is expected to represent Malaysia in the Asean Schools Games in Jakarta.
Marina said the students would have the option to join the Pre-U programme at BJSS.
“We had a briefing for all the 100 students and explained to them the options available to them. Some may want to join private colleges and also secure scholarship from other organisations.
“We would like to see all the students excel in sports and studies,’’ said Marina.
