Malaysia tally rises to 18 golds on 3rd day of SEA Games

MANILA, 4 Dec 2019:

A scintillating performance by gymnastics queen Farah Ann Abdul Hadi at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum added glitter to Malaysia’s seven-gold haul on the third day of the 30th SEA Games here yesterday.

The medals galore brought Malaysia’s tally to 18 golds, five silvers and 14 bronzes but did not change their overall standing at third place.

Apart from the seven golds, Malaysia also collected two silvers – through Tan Ing Yueh in women’s vault of artistic gymnastics and ice skater Anja Chong in the women’s 500m short track speed.

The national contingent also netted five bronzes, through artistic gymnastics (men’s floor exercise and women’s uneven bars), wushu (men’s sanda 54kg), squash men’s singles and women’s 500m short track speed in ice skating.

Hosts the Philippines consolidated their lead in the medal tally with 47 golds, 31 silvers and 17 bronzes while Vietnam remained in second spot with 23 gold, 27 silver and 25 bronze medals.

Malaysia’s first gold of the day came from Yeoh Li Tian in the men’s Rapid Chess when he collected the highest points after nine rounds of contest at the Travelers Hotel, Subic.

Elite bowler Timmy Tan was also outstanding when he knocked down 1,334 pins to claim the men’s singles title at the Starmall Edsa Shopping Centre in Manila, followed by gymnast Tan Fu Jie’s triumph in men’s pommel horse with a score of 13.967 points.

Rachel Arnold beat Chan Yiwen 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 in an all-Malaysian women’s squash final at the Manila Polo Club.

Farah Ann, who won the individual all-around title yesterday, grabbed the gold in women’s uneven bars with a score of 12.367 points before the ice skating quartet of Kynie Chan, Ashley Chin, Anja Chong and Dione Tan reigned supreme in the women’s 3000m relay short track speed at the SM Megamall Shopping Centre in Manila.

Muhammad Addeen Idrakie Bahtiar completed Malaysia’s gold collection when he beat Robert Andrew Garcia of the Philippines 11-7, 3-11, 11-9, 11-5 in the men’s squash final.

Amidst the cheers, misfortune struck the Malaysian camp when men’s silat exponent Muhammad Faizul M Nasir was injured in his match and had to be admitted to The Medical City in Clark.

The 2018 Asian Games silver medallist was knocked unconscious by Dines Dumaan of the Philippines in the Men’s Class B (50-55kg) bout at the Subic Convention and Exhibition Centre but his condition was reported to be stable now.

The Malaysian contingent will continue their hunt for gold today on the fourth day in badminton, artistic gymnastics, lawn bowls, obstacle sport and sailing.

Meanwhile, the Philippines Sea Games Organising Committee (PHISGOC) will bear added costs of athletes who failed to return home following flight delays after the host nation was hit by typhoon Kammuri yesterday.

Malaysia’s chef de mission for the Games, Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin said the organisers have agreed to bear the added costs for accommodation and food.

He also confirmed that athletes who have yet to arrive in the Philippines for the games will be flying out from Malaysia today, as soon as the local authorities open the Ninoy Aquino International Airport here for operations.

“We have discussed with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) on arrangements to bring our athletes here as soon as we have clearance from the authorities here once the (flight) conditions are safe. There is a possibility MAS may use larger aircraft to accommodate more passengers.

“MAS is also not imposing any charges as we are not cancelling our flights, but because they were delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions,” he said when met during the gymnastics competition at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum here.

Among the athletes who could not fly out from Kuala Lumpur as a result of cancellations were those from the diving, athletics, rhythmic gymnastics and e-sports squads.

PHISGOC earlier made the decision to postpone to new dates several events including beach volleyball, canoe/kayak, muay thai, pencak silat, pentathlon and windsurfing, all of which were supposed to be contested around Clark and Subic yesterday.

– Bernama