KUALA LUMPUR: It's hard nowadays to find athletes like J. Pavithraa Devi. She competed in two different sports in three Sea Games.
Softball and javelin. Quick of eye and fast of hand, she is evidently good at throwing things.
Pavithraa took up athletics at the age of eight when studying at SJK Keng Koon. A year later she also took up softball.
It's in softball that the 23-year-old Penang athlete has found more success at the Sea Games and Malaysia Games.
She made her Sea Games debut in 2015 in Singapore as a softball player. Two years later, she competed in javelin at the KL Sea Games and finished fourth. Next a softball bronze for her at the 2019 Manila Sea Games.
Pavithraa has turned out to be a "double international", one of the rare athletes who is good in two different sports.
"I love sports. And I'm the only athlete who competed in two different sports in three Sea Games," she said.
"I'm glad I helped Malaysia win bronze in softball in the Sea Games."
She will feature in the Malaysia Games for a record sixth time when the Kuala Lumpur edition starts on Friday. And this will be her final outing.
Which event? You may wonder. It's the javelin for her at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
Pavithraa was only 13 when making her Malaysia Games debut in Pahang in 2012. She competed in shot putt but didn't win any medal. Two years later at n the Perlis Games, she turned to javelin but again, missed the podium.
At the 2015 KL Games, Pavithraa switched to softball and struck gold with the Penang team.
A year later in the Sarawak Games, she finished on the podium in all the throw events, winning bronze in javelin, shot putt and discus. But the 2018 Perak Games turned out to be disappointing for Pavithraa who failed to win a medal in all three events.
She took a two-year break from athletics and made a comeback in 2020 to focus on javelin.
And she will start as the overwhelming favourite in the javelin at the KL Games, based on her season best of 42.21m posted at the KL All Comers in May.
She also won gold in the Perak Open in June with a meet record of 41.25m.
Pavithraa, who has a personal best of 43.42m, said confidently she does not think there is any other rival who can beat her in the Malaysia Games.
"I have been training for two years under coach Rifat Artikov (of Uzbekistan) and this is my sixth and last Games. I want to finish with a bang.
"I also want to qualify for next year's Sea Games through javelin as there is no softball in the Games," said Pavithraa who is doing a degree in International Business at a university in Penang.