KUALA LUMPUR: Behind every successful man, they say, is a good woman.
Well aware of both the saying and that his wife had sacrificed a lot over the years, ex-national silat champion Al-Jufferi Jamari, presented a Nissan X-Trail after being chosen as Harian Metro's new sports icon, promptly handed the sports utility vehicle over to her.
Thanking the paper and its sponsors for choosing him as the Ikon Sukan Terbaik in the Harian Metro Anugerah Ikon Sukan (AIS), Al-Jufferi said that for the last five years being married to his wife, she had made "numerous sacrifices".
"I mean, I left her... not left in the sense of abandonment, but left her while serving the nation and couldn't celebrate festivities with her throughout these five years.
"Personally, I haven't celebrated (anything) for 13 years, actually. So, she really struggled, taking care of our child alone."
There is more, however, as Al-Jufferi said his beloved wife played a pivotal role as his main strategist on how to win and managed it from the online voting aspect and such.
He said the award was undeniably the pinnacle of his 15-year silat career, one which he never fathomed would occur.
"So, Harian Metro has made an impact, opening the eyes of athletes or teams out there that sports are at the highest level.
"If we look at history, there has never been an award given in sports to athletes or any team that included a car as a prize. So, for me, Harian Metro has broken records throughout history, I feel there isn't any like it. This is one of the highest platforms
"I hope Harian Metro will sustain this in the future. Perhaps with other initiatives, different prizes," said the athlete.
On what he aims to do next, Al-Jufferi said he wants to prioritise the development of silat, initially within Malaysia and subsequently expanding programmes to Islamic nations and beyond.