Farah finally Ann-s her journey as national gymnast

KUALA LUMPUR - National artistic gymnastics queen Farah Ann Abdul Hadi has officially called it a day from the sport.

In announcing her retirement on Facebook today, she also described her amazing journey in the sport over the last 25 years as being a ride of a lifetime.

"25 years ago a little girl took a leap of faith and joined the crazy world of gymnastics. Entranced with being a gymnast, I embarked on a journey that would ultimately become my greatest passion. "Now, after 25 amazing years in this sport, I am finally ready to say goodbye to being a competitive gymnast,” she said.

The Selangor-born athlete said she was glad to retire on her own terms, especially after competing in the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 last year.

The 27-year-old Olympian also took the opportunity to thank the sport and the people that she met along the way for all the wonderful memories, experiences, guidance, love and support.

Despite bidding farewell, Farah Ann said she would always continue to be involved in the world of sports.

"Gymnastics will always be a part of me as it will always be my passion, and hopefully, I can give something back to the sport that has truly given me so much,” she added.

Farah Ann, who made her debut with the national team in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games in India, is among Malaysia’s top performers in the regional SEA Games.

The gymnast accumulated seven golds, two silvers and three bronzes from four editions of the biennial Games, with the 2019 Manila SEA Games in the Philippines being her best outing as she bagged three gold medals in the floor exercise, uneven bars and individual all-around events.

Her most notable achievement was qualifying for her first Olympics in Tokyo last year, where she missed out on the chance to advance to the women’s all-around final after finishing 68th out of 85 competitors, collecting 48.565 points overall in the qualifying round.

She collected 11.600 points for the uneven bars, 11.566 points on the balance beam, 12.233 points in the floor exercise and 13.166 points for the vault.

Previously, Farah Ann’s future with the national squad was in doubt after she reportedly missed training for three weeks and was said to be considering calling it a day.

On March 1, Malaysia Gymnastics Federation (MGF) secretary-general Afrita Ariani Nasril had said that Farah Ann was contemplating retirement due to age and injuries before adding that the MGF was open to discussion if she needed help.

Bernama today reported that the MGF decided to drop Farah Ann from the final squad to the Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam in May after she failed to clarify her status with the federation. - BERNAMA