KUANTAN: When her classmates were busy sweating it out by participating in outdoor co-curricular activities, Veronica Mahdan opted out opted for strategy board game - chess.
For her choice, the former primary student at SK Buluh Nipis in Muadzam Shah was laughed upon by her peers.
The 16-year-old, now a student of SMK Muadzam Jaya is having the last laugh over those who doubted her.
This was after she emerged as the state champion and was picked to represent Pahang in the recent Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) tournament.
Veronica from the Jakun tribe said when she was in Year Five, her class teacher told each pupil to pick an extra co-curricular activity and most of her friends choose netball, athletes and other physical games.
"I was interested in the board game but at the same time was doubtful if I will be able to learn and understand the game. Many of my friends felt that I should pick a game that I am familiar rather than trying something new.
"I gave it a try and slowly began to enjoy the game, and learn the killer moves. It became a motivation for me to achieve more as I managed to represent the state four times in various age categories in the MSSM and other open-competitions," she said when met, here.
She said another reason she choose chess is because it will not burden her single-mother, as the game did not require any additional cost (buying sports equipments) as one only needs the chess board.
Veronica said there were occasions when she felt a little inferior especially when playing against senior opponents but she was determined to prove that the "royal game" is not restricted to certain individuals but everyone can enjoy it.
"I believe that as long as someone has the passion for chess, they can learn and enjoy the game. Sometimes, people are surprised to find an Orang Asli girl is among the participants in a chess competition.
"Several other Orang Asli students have now began to take up chess seriously and the game now has a huge following in the village. I always believe a deep passion is key to learn the game as I never expected to progress this far(MSSM) when I started playing the game," said Veronica from Kampung Mikang, Bukit Ibam.
The teen, whose ambition is to one day represent the country in chess, said she was fortunate to have Safri A. Razak, a teacher from SK Buluh Nipis who spent hours training her and her friends for competitions.
"Although the teacher (Safri) does not teach at my school, he still continues to train me and the others. He has been consistently coaching and preparing us for tournaments," said the Form Four student, who is a regular at chess competitions at school, district and state level for the past six years.
Veronica, who finished in 14th spot among 30 participants in the Under-18 category during the MSSM here last week, promised to put behind the disappointing results and return next year with an improved performance.