REMAINS CONFIDENT

Yew Fai believes meeting target of six gold is still a reality

FABIAN PETER fabian.mark@nst.com.my

THE Malaysian wushu squad are on the right track in their quest to win six gold medals despite winning only one on the second day of competition at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games yesterday.

Apart from the one gold, Malaysia also bagged two silver medals and three bronze.

National coach Lim Yew Fai, however, is not too concerned as he is confident the team can win two more gold medals today.

"I'm very happy today because the team put up a very good show. Even if there were mistakes, they weren't major. We have been preparing for the Games the last six months, and every month we could see the exponents cutting down on their mistakes," said Yew Fai.

He added that most of the athletes were already in good spirits leading up to the Games, including Ho Mun Hua, who yesterday settled for the bronze medal in the men's nandao-nangun final at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

"Take Mun Hua for example, I think he did so much more today as compared to when in training. In fact, all of them are not thinking about how many medals they have, they are more concerned with putting up a good show. I want them to go in with the same mentality tomorrow (today), we can enjoy after that.

"We still can win a few more gold medals, so let's wait and see. We also must be aware of the other exponents who are equally as good," added Yew Fai who tipped Vietnam and Indonesia to be Malaysia's biggest contenders on the final day.

Malaysia's gold yesterday came through Yeap Wai Kin in the men's qiangshu final, when he scored 9.68 points. Teammate Wong Wen Son came in second on 9.65, while Indonesia's Muhammad Daffa Golden Boy took the bronze on 9.63.

In the women's qiangshu final, Malaysia's Phoon Eyin had to once again be satisfied with the silver after coming short of 0.01 points to Vietnam's Thuy Vi Duong who recorded 9.67 points. Myanmar's Sandy Oo settled for the bronze on 9.65.

In the men's daoshu-gunshu final, Khaw Jun Lim's combined score of 19.29 points earned him a bronze medal. Singapore's