Anxious Lego Sam Spent Sleepless Nights Before Defending Gold
By Amiril Muttaqien Meketar
PHNOM PENH, May 16 (Bernama) -- National dance sport sensation Sam Jee Lek had countless sleepless nights en route to defending the men’s break dance (B-Boys) gold at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games here today.
Sam or better known as Lego Sam revealed that he was under tremendous pressure to ensure the gold remained within his grasp after his Cambodian outing.
“I would like to dedicate this gold to my family and friends who keep supporting me before but more importanly to me as I really pushed myself before coming here. I am glad that all my hard work paid off.
“I started to have sleepless nights after the Chinese New Year this year. When I close my eyes, I kept thinking about the SEA Games and when I woke up I keep pushing myself as I doubled my trainings to defend the gold here,” he told Bernama.
In the final round held at the Olympic Complex Marquee, here, the 27-year-old was truly in his element as his stunning yet energetic moves captured the hearts of judges and enabled him to take home gold by beating his rival, Chinavut Chantarat (Cheno) of Thailand, 3-0.
As such, Sam hoped that his wonderful achievement in Phnom Penh would gain more attention from the National Sports Council (NSC) to help develop dance sport.
The Seremban-born dancer also hoped to get a foreign coach in a bid to help him prepare better to compete with other world class dancers and fight for a slot in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“The NSC always supported me by sponsoring flight tickets when I compete in international tournaments before but I hope there’ll be a fund to hire a coach because it’s hard to get one in Malaysia,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sam hoped to be able to break into the top 40 by the end of this year in his quest to compete in the final qualifying round for the next Olympic Games.
Sam, who is currently in 85th position in the Olympic qualification ranking, said only the top 16 out of the best 40 dancers from the qualifying round will make the cut to compete in the final round of the next Olympic Games.
At the 2019 SEA Games in Manila, Philippines, Sam won the men’s breakdance event for Malaysia's first gold in any dance sport event. However, B-Boys event was not contested in the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Sam has won over 80 titles in various levels of competitions, including consecutive Red Bull BC One titles in 2015 and 2016.
-- BERNAMA
