A family member, who wished to remain anonymous, said the recurve archer had collapsed after performing the prayers at his house in Kajang.
“He suddenly collapsed as soon as he came out from the toilet after the prayers and lost consciousness,” she said. Haziq’s body has been taken to the Kajang Hospital for post- mortem.
The archer from Johor has competed in two Olympic Games, London 2012 and Rio 2016. He was preparing for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers, scheduled to be held from June 19-21 in Paris. The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to Aug 8.
Haziq had also represented Malaysia at various levels for a decade and won many medals, including a gold medal at the 2011 Asian Grand Prix in Laos and a bronze medal at the 2019 Asia Cup in the Philippines.
In addition, the athlete also won four gold and two silver medals in individual and team events throughout his participation in the SEA Games from 2011 until 2019.
Haziq, together with diving queen Pandelela Rinong, were named the Bukit Jalil Sports School Sportsman and Sportswoman respectively for 2012.
His teammate Zulfadhli Ruslan was among the first to express his condolences over Haziq’s passing via his Facebook account.
“Assalamualaikum, I regret to inform you that my friend Haziq Kamaruddin had returned to his creator this morning. May his soul be showered with blessings and placed among the pious. Let’s pray for him. Al-Fatihah,” he wrote.
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