Nurul Suhaila Binte Mohamed Saiful (born 25 February 1995) is a Singaporean pencak silat practitioner. She represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Games and the Pencak World Championships. Nurul won her first world championship in 2018, at the 15th World Pencak Silat Championship.[2]
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| Full name | Nurul Suhaila Binte Mohamed Saiful[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Singaporean | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 February 1995 Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Pencak Silat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career edit
Nurul Suhaila started getting interested in Silat when she watched her brother fight. She then decided to compete and prove that girls can fight just as well as the boys can.[1]
Nurul Suhaila started Her Professional Career in Pencak silat at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, but She was outmatched by Malaysian Pesilat Siti Zubaidah Che Omar at the Quarter Finals with a score of 5-0. An accomplished silat exponent, Nurul Suhaila clinched a bronze medal for her category (Class D, 60 to 65kg) at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games and also a gold medal at the Sijori Pencak Silat Championships in 2014.
Selly Andriani had denied Suhaila gold in the final of the 15th World Pencak Silat Championship, and defeated the Singaporean again in the semi-final of the same tournament the following year, which resulted in Suhaila getting a silver and bronze respectively. However, at the 18th World Pencak Silat Championship, Suhaila defeated two-time world champion, Selly Andriani 4-1 at the OCBC Arena to enter Class D (60-65kg) final. She faced Thailand's Janejira Wankrue and defeated the latter, and got her first world title.[3][4]
In 2019, at the first United States Open Pencak Silat Championships in Sterling, Virginia, Singapore won 16 gold medals out of a possible 27. Suhaila, together with Sheik Ferdous and Iqbal Abdul Rahman, won gold in the tournament.[5]
In Pencak silat at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Suhaila was defeated by Vietnamese Pesilat Tran Thi Them in the Semi-finals, resulting Her to achieve the bronze medal
Nurul Suhaila finally won Gold in Pencak silat at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games, after defeating Her Malaysian rival Siti Shazwana Ajak
However in Pencak silat at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, Nurul Suhaila was defeated by Vietnam's Quang Thi Thu Ngia in the Semi-Finals, making Her won the Bronze
Personal life edit
Nurul Suhaila has an older sister, Nurul Shafiqah Saiful, who is also a national pencak silat athlete.[6]
Suhaila graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in mass communications.[7]
Nurul is Muslim
References edit
- ^ a b "NURUL SUHAILA BINTE MOHAMED SAIFUL – ActiveSG". myactivesg. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Silat: Singapore in seventh heaven at 18th World Championship, gold haul bodes well for 2019 SEA Games". 16 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Suhaila conquers two-time champion". The Straits Times. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Silat: Singapore's Suhaila turns the tables on Indonesian nemesis, makes final of World C'ship". 15 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Gold rush for Singapore in the US". 25 June 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Not merely team-mates: Athletes with family ties". The Straits Times. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Interview with SEA Games Silat Bronze Medalist Nurul Suhaila". Elevenasia. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2019.