Sheik Farhan (Singapore Athlete)

From Wiki.sg
Revision as of 18:52, 14 January 2021 by Jessica Fang (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Sheik Farhan
Sheik Farhan.jpg
Born1997
EducationDiploma in Digital and Precision Engineering
Alma materNanyang Polytechnic
Height186cm (6ft 1in)

Sheik Farhan (born 1997) is a Singaporean athlete competing in the sport of pencak silat.[1] A multi-time gold medalist, Sheik Farhan first became a silat world champion when he won the Pencak Silat World Championships in January 2015.[2] Most recently in December 2019, he won the gold medal at the Asian Pencak Silat Championships held in Yanji, China.[1]

Background

Family

Sheik Farhan bin Sheik Alau’ddin was born in 1997.[1] He is the son of Sheik Alau’ddin, a two-time world champion in pencak silat and the chief executive officer of the Singapore Silat Federation.[2] Sheik Farhan is the fourth out of six children, and his siblings are also involved in the sport of silat.[3] His brother Sheik Ferdous is a fellow silat world champion, having won the World Pencak Silat Championships in December 2018 and his sister Nur Shafiqa competed at the 2015 SEA Games, obtaining a bronze medal.[4][5]

Education

For his secondary education, Sheik Farhan studied at the Singapore Sports School where he completed his GCE Ordinary (‘O’) Levels in 2014.[6] From 2015 to 2018, Sheik Farhan studied at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) where he graduated with a diploma in digital and precision engineering from the School of Engineering.[6][7]

Sheik Farhan pictured with father Sheik Alau’ddin.
Sheik Farhan pictured with father Sheik Alau’ddin.

Competitive silat

As of January 2021, Sheik Farhan is a two-time world champion in the competitive sport of pencak silat, having won the World Pencak Silat Championships in 2015 and 2016.[2][8] He is also a gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), having won in 2017. Pencak silat, globally referred to as silat, is an Indonesian martial art in which practitioners use their limbs to strike, grapple and throw their opponents.[9]

Beginnings

Growing up, Sheik Farhan watched his father, two-time silat world champion Sheik Alau’ddin, carry out his training sessions at Jalan Besar Community Club.[10] Naturally, he picked up the sport as well, eventually winning a junior silat competition at the age of seven.[11] Speaking to Channel News Asia about his experience with silat as a child, he was quoted as having said:

“Silat was just a part of my routine since I was very young, maybe a toddler.”[11]

Landmark competitions

In January 2015, Sheik Farhan competed at the Pencak Silat World Championships in Phuket, Thailand.[12] Despite sustaining a shin injury right before his first world championship competition, Sheik Farhan beat Malaysia’s Azrul Abdullah 4-1 in the semi-finals and Vietnam’s Mach Quoc Hung 3-2 in the finals to win his first world championship.[12] In December 2016, Sheik Farhan won his second consecutive world title at the Pencak Silat World Championships, overcoming Vietnamese Mach Quoc Hung once again to claim his gold medal.[8] Sheik’s father, Sheik Alau’ddin, said the following to The New Paper about his son’s win:

“Farhan had no problems with his match. Overall I’m very happy because of the performance of athletes and the team behind them, everyone has been excellent.”[12]

In August 2017, Sheik Farhan participated at the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he won his first SEA Games gold medal with a 5-0 win over Malaysian Khairul Yaacob.[9] In a 2015 interview with The Straits Times, he elaborated on his thoughts during his gold medal match:

“Out there, it's not just you and your opponent. There's also the judges and you have to look confident, which is why I did the No. 1 sign. There's no room to be timid. I never want to show my opponent how I'm feeling. All I'm focused on is thinking about what to do next to make sure I win.”[9]

Sheik Farhan pictured in his match against Khairul Yaacob at the 2017 SEA Games.
Sheik Farhan pictured in his match against Khairul Yaacob at the 2017 SEA Games.

Podium finishes

The following is a list of podium finishes Sheik Farhan has attained over the years.

Year Event Location Medal References
2019 Asian Pencak Silat Championships Yanji, China Gold [1]
2018 Asian Games Jakarta, Indonesia Bronze [13]
2017 29th SEA Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Gold [9]
2016 Pencak Silat World Championships Bali, Indonesia Gold [8]
2015 Phuket, Thailand Gold [12]
28th SEA Games Singapore, Singapore Bronze [5]

Awards

Sheik Farhan pictured at the 2017 Singapore Sports Awards with Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) president Tan Chuan Jin (second from left) and then-Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean (second from right).
Sheik Farhan pictured at the 2017 Singapore Sports Awards with Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) president Tan Chuan Jin (second from left) and then-Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean (second from right).

Due to his success in the sport of silat, Sheik Farhan has been the recipient of several awards over the years. The following is a list of awards he has received.

Singapore Youth Award (November 2019)

In November 2019, Sheik Farhan was the recipient of the Singapore Youth Award, the country’s highest accolade for youth who have risen to the top of their craft and brought honour to the nation.[14][15]

Singapore Sports Awards (August 2017)

In August 2017, Sheik Farhan was named Sportsboy of the Year at the Singapore Sports Awards, the country’s annual awards ceremony to recognise and honour the achievements of its sporting individuals and teams.[16][17]

Sheik Farhan pictured at the 2017 Singapore Sports Awards with Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) president Tan Chuan Jin (second from left) and then-Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean (second from right). Link: https://www.facebook.com/sgolympics/photos/a.1894841300733332/1894844934066302

Berita Harian Young Achiever Award (August 2016)

In August 2016, Sheik Farhan was the recipient of the Berita Harian Young Achiever Award, an award given to Muslim and Malay Singaporeans aged 30 and below that have excelled in their respective field of work or study.[18]

Citations / References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kwek, Kimberly. “Sweet success for Sheik Farhan”. The Straits Times. December 30, 2019. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lim, Say Heng. “Just 17, Sheik Farhan is a world silat champion”. The New Paper. January 17, 2015. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  3. ↑ “Silat Uncut”. Singapore Silat Federation. February 2020. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  4. ↑ Nagib, Adeena Mohamed. “Singapore silat champion Sheik Ferdous reinvents himself to stay top”. The New Paper. June 24, 2019. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lim, Ching Ying. “SEA Games: S'pore settle for 4 silat bronzes after semis, but Alfian makes Class F final”. The Straits Times. June 13, 2015. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Aziz, Sazali Abdul. “He's all about stars”. AsiaOne. January 26, 2015. Accessed 7 January, 2021. Retrieved from The New Paper.
  7. ↑ “Diploma in Digital and Precision Engineering”. Nanyang Polytechnic. n.d. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Aziz, Sazali Abdul. “Silat World Champs: Shakir and Farhan win golds for Singapore”. The New Paper. December 8, 2016. Accessed 7 January, 2021. Retrieved from RED SPORTS.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Wong, Jonathan. “SEA Games: Like father, like son as Sheik Farhan wins silat gold”. The Straits Times. August 30, 2017. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  10. ↑ Chong, Clara., Yong, Clement. “Young Singaporeans to watch: Fight club”. The Straits Times. December 19, 2020. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 “Sheik Farhan Bin Sheik Alau’ddin”. Channel News Asia. September 18, 2019. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 “S’pore’s Sheik Farhan becomes silat world champion”. TODAYonline. January 17, 2015. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  13. ↑ Mohan, Matthew. “Asian Games: Second silver for Singapore as Ferdous brings silat medal tally to five”. Channel News Asia. August 27, 2018. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  14. ↑ Youth.SG. Facebook. November 22, 2019. Accessed 7 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/youthdotsg/posts/2835222209841760
  15. ↑ “Singapore Youth Award”. National Youth Council. n.d. Accessed 7 January, 2021.
  16. ↑ Fhoong, Low Lin. “SEA Games families: Ferdous, Farhan ready to strike out on their own”. TODAYonline. August 12, 2017. Accessed 11 January, 2021.
  17. ↑ Singapore National Sports Council. Facebook. August 8, 2017. Accessed 11 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/sgolympics/photos/a.1894841300733332/1894844934066302
  18. ↑ Andanari, Kintan. “Silat champion Sheik Farhan wins BH achiever award”. The New Paper. August 31, 2016. Accessed 11 January, 2021.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.sg/index.php?title=Sheik_Farhan_(Singapore_Athlete)&oldid=10445"