Golden haul at KL2017
Malaysia 1-0 in a disappointing final at the Shah Alam Stadium on Aug 29.
In the final game, Malaysia goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli ended up the villain after accidentally punching the ball into his own net from a corner kick in the 39th minute.
The Malaysian team last won the gold medal in the 2011 Jakarta SEA Games, while Thailand are the defending champions.
Although Malaysia topped the medals table in the biennial regional gathering with 145 golds a female diver, a gold medalist at the Kuala Lumpur-hosted Southeast Asian Games in August, tested positive for banned weight-loss drug sibutramine at a New Delhi laboratory came as a surprise to many Malaysians.
The sporting event plunged to a low when Malaysia’s Wendy Ng Yan Yee (diving) was found with banned substance sibutramine at a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory in New Delhi on October 11.
Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant which is commonly found in weight loss supplements.
Wendy had to give up two gold medals she won in the women’s 3m springboard individual and 3m springboard synchro with Nur Dhabitah Sabri.
The 24-year-old, admitted she was sad her KL2017 SEA Games gold has been stripped off but she stayed determined to fight for Malaysia.
The two-time Olympian — 2012 London and 2016 Rio — Wendy was reported said she is shocked too (about being tested positive).
“But I won’t give up. I hope to be given a chance to compete at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April and Jakarta Asian Games in August.
“As for now, I have no clue on how long the ban is but I still have the fighting spirit for my country,” she said.
The Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) on Dec 13 revealed that three athletes including Wendy failed doping tests at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games (KL2017).
Besides Wendy, two Thai athletes Nurisan Loseng (pencak silat) and Benjaporn Sriphanomthorn (swimming) also failed the “B sample” test conducted by WADA in New Delhi on October 11.
SEAGF president Tan Sri Tunku Imran Tuanku Jaafar said their victories and medals would be withdrawn.