Chinlone gold one mission accomplished – Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR: The national chinlone squad winning Malaysia’s first gold medal in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games has been described by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin as “one mission accomplished”.

He praised the chinlone team for delivering the nation’s first gold medal.

Malaysia won the gold after defeating Philippines 391-271 in the final of event 3 (linking) at the Titiwangsa Indoor Stadium here yesterday.

“This gold medal is very meaningful to us because it is our first (in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games) and in fact we had expected the chinlone squad to deliver the first gold for the national contingent. All the players did not disappoint. From the start they showed what they were capable of,” he told reporters after witnessing the final and later presenting the gold medal to winners.

Also present was Malaysia’s chef-de-mission Datuk Marina Chin.

Meanwhile, the squad’s chief coach Mohd Yusoff Abdullah said he was both happy and relieved that his boys delivered the first gold for Malaysia.

“I feel like a big burden has been lifted from my shoulders. The boys showed a splendid performance. It is also a personal achievement after having failed twice before (in Singapore and Myanmar SEA Games,” he said.

Sharing the joy was team captain Mohammad Faiz Roslan who said that the feat would not only inspire the team further but the Malaysian contingent as well.

Brunei picked up the bronze in the three-team event.

Besides Muhammad Faiz, the others in the gold winning team were Mohammad Kamal Aizat Azmi, Ab Muhaimi Che Bongsu, Putera Aidil Israfi Kamaruzaman, Muhamad Asyraaf Abd Hadi, Izuan Afendi Azlan, Mohd Nazuha Mohd Nadzli and Iskandar Zulkarnain Salim.

Meanwhile, the chinlone squad added another bronze medal from the Stroke event after collecting 182 points behind Myanmar (301) and Thailand (287) while Laos finished fourth with 161 points.

Myanmar and Thailand moved into the final while Malaysia and Laos were awarded bronze medals as the format has no playoff for third and fourth placing.