Winning did not come till much later for Suhaila or Ferdous, as both admit to struggling with confidence issues in their earlier years
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It seems that Silat World Champions Sheik Ferdous and Nurul Suhaila did not start off as winners. In fact, losing taught them a lot about what it takes to be a real champion.
So what obstacles did they have to overcome and when was the turning point in their athlete careers before they became successful?
"I've had many loses, I wasn't the star athlete or anything," shared Ferdous. "I wasn't winning at all until at one point I became so tired of losing."
Sheik Ferdous and Nurul Suhaila share about their struggles before they overcame their obstacles to achieve success.
He added: "Something had to change. Whether it was added hours in training or just something. Luckily, I didn't give up and waited it out, with added training and all, I persevered and I finally got to where I am now."
It was a similar tale for his good friend Nurul Suhaila, who lost to the same opponent three times before she finally came out victorious at the 2018 Silat World Championships.
Said Suhaila: "I really struggled with my confidence, which kept going down each time I lost to the same opponent. Everytime I lost to her, I would think to myself: I trained so hard after I lost to her, and now I've lost again?"
PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG
She added that the thing that really helped her was her support system, which comprised close friends like Ferdous, loved ones and her coach.
"It really helped having friends who really believe in you, and you want to see in yourself what they see in you," she said.
"My coach, everytime after I lose, he says it's not the end, we will go back to the drawing block and come up with new strategies for the next time," Suhaila quipped.
"I suppose having a support system that really trusts in your training and that you can do it was what made the difference for me."