Malaysia hurtle towards 111 golds
KUALA LUMPUR: With optimism rising that they are headed for their most successful SEA Games ever, hosts Malaysia have narrowed the chase towards their target of 111 gold medals and looking strong to smash through the mark as well after another superb day by their athletes.
Securing 11 more by evening yesterday with double gold from diving, rhythmic gymnastics, lawn bowls and sailing, the home tally rose to 94 golds, 63 silvers and 60 bronzes.
It was also the time for track cyclist Irwandie Lakasek, taekwondo fighter Rozaimi Rozali and and figure skater Julian Yee to shine with a gold each.
Malaysia’s best performance in the biennial Games is 111 golds at the 2001 edition which it also hosted.
Next on the medals board are Vietnam with 51 with 2015 overall champions Thailand in hot pursuit with 50, Singapore fourth with 48 followed by Indonesia 31, the Philippines 21, Myanmar seven and as well as Laos and Cambodia one.
The organisers announced that Tuesday’s derby for the men’s football gold between Malaysia and Thailand will be staged at the Shah Alam Stadium at 8.45pm. The bronze playoff between Indonesia and Myanmar will kick off earlier at 4.30pm at the Selayang Stadium.
World diving champion Cheong Jun Hoong and Jasmine Lai, substituting an injured Nur Dhabitah Sabri, cruised to gold and silver in the women’s 1m springboard, and it was the same script in the men’s 10m platform for Ooi Tze Liang retaining the gold, his second in the current Games, and team-mate Chew Yi Wei finishing for silver.
Fittingly Malaysia lifted the first gold medal at the new Nilai Velodrome with 22-year-old Irwandie powering to a rousing gold in the men’s scratch race to douse off Thailand’s Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn and Thanawut Sanikwathi as track cycling with 13 events opened. .
In Langkawi, Malaysia dominated the men’s International 420 and International 470 but the same cannot be said of the women’s team that failed to defend the International 470 gold and took silver behind Singapore.
Teenage sailors Muhammad Uzair Amin Mohd Yusof and Naquib Eiman Shahrin shook off a challenge from two Thai pairs to retain the International 420 gold for the hosts with 13 penalty points.
In the International 470 won by Singapore two years ago, Mohammad Faizal Norizan and Ahmad Syukri Abdul Aziz accumulated 17 penalty points for the gold, leaving Thailand and the Philippines to settle for silver and bronze.
Like clockwork, lawn bowls wrapped up seven of eight medals for Malaysia. In the closing singles competition, Muhammad Soufi Rusli beat Lee Yuan Min of Singapore 21-6 in the men’s showdown and Emma Firyana Saroji outwitted Brunei’s Amaliah Mat Ali 21-12 to win the women’s title in a first for Malaysia.
On the second day of rhythmic gymnastics heavily tipped in favour of the hosts which took the opening team title Saturday, 18-year-old Koi Siew Yan defended the all-around event and Malaysia went on to clinch gold number three in the group single apparatus (five hoops).
“Today I did better especially in the hoop event with 16.600 points, it was the highest score that I had ever received so far,” said the Pahang gymnast who dedicated her triumph to her parents for their sacrifices and her friends for their support.
Figure skater Julian Yee lived up to form proving his mettle in the men’s free skating routine to take gold with 205.43 points and team-mate Chew Kai Xiang the bronze with 145.53 behind behind Flipino Michael Christian Marti on 171.63 points.
I n equestrian polo, Malaysia will be riding for gold against Thailand in the final on Thursday while Singapore and Brunei tangle for the bronze.
Today, 25 golds will be contested and Malaysia are expecting a flurry of gold from diving and the final day of rhythmic gymnastics.