M'sia celebrate best ever outing
Published on: Thursday, August 31, 2017
Kuala Lumpur: The Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017 (KL2017) drew to a close with a jubilant Malaysia emerging as the overall champions with their best ever outing at the biennial event with 145 gold, 92 silver and 86 bronze medals.Joining Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here Wednesday night for the closing ceremony were athletes and officials from 11 countries who took part in the sporting extravaganza which began on Aug 19.The Malaysian athletes fought tooth and nail for glory in the SEA Games which saw them hitting the 111-gold target on Monday before adding 34 more up to the final day of competition Wednesday, providing a birthday gift to remember as Malaysia celebrates its 60th independence anniversary Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Second-placed Thailand clinched 72 golds, followed by Vietnam with 58, Singapore 57, Indonesia 38, the Philippines 24, Myanmar seven, Cambodia three and Laos two. Brunei went home with five silvers and eight bronzes and Timor Leste managed three bronze medals. The 30th edition of the Games will be hosted by the Philippines in 2019."I declare the KL SEA Games closed and I call upon the youths of the Southeast Asian countries to assemble two years from now at the Philippines to celebrate the 30th SEA Games."May they display cheerfulness and concord so that the sports torch may be carried on with even greater eagerness, courage and honour for the good of humanity throughout the ages," a beaming Najib said when closing the KL2017 to cheers and applause from those who had packed into the 100,000-capacity stadium at 10.12pm, here, Wednesday night.
ADVERTISEMENT
The closing ceremony, broadcast live nationwide and beyond, was also attended by the Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and South-East Asia Games Federation (SEAGF) president Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Jaafar.Khairy, who chaired the 29th SEA Games Organising Committee, also received a special award from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a successful Games.
ADVERTISEMENT
KL2017 was the sixth SEA Games hosted by Malaysia after 1965, 1971, 1977, 1989 and 2001.The contributions of the thousands of KL2017 volunteers were also acknowledged at the closing ceremony.Malaysia also handed over the SEA Games hosting duties to the Philippines which was marked by the handing over of the SEAGF flag to Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the 2019 SEA Games Organising Committee.The extinguishing of the KL2017 flame provided a poignant moment for the over 7,000 athletes and officials involved in 404 events across 38 sports featured in the KL2017 which carried the theme 'Rising Together'. Wednesday night's proceedings were enlivened by songs, dances and cultural performances.Meanwhile, in the final push for medals Wednesday, Malaysia whacked five of the last seven golds at stake, packing two more from diving as expected and another three from the ice skating team to bring the curtains down on 12 days of competition. This is the second time Malaysia have topped the Games after their first in 2001 when they won 111 golds also on home soil. Setting a similar target this time and to their utter delight, the national athletes responded with such fighting spirit and comradeship to surpass the mark.National divers signed off with the men's and women's titles in synchronised 10m platform to sweep all 13 gold offered in the sport at the National Aquatic Centre.Leong Mun Yee and Traisy Vivien Tukiet faced no threat at all in retaining the women's gold while in the men's event, promising 16-year-old Jellson Jabillin and Hanis Nazirul Jaya Surya did not squander the opportunity in nailing the men's title for their first time.The men's gold was won two years ago by the more experienced Ooi Tze Liang and Chew Yiwei who are still in the team but are taking a back seat to give a chance to the youngsters to prove themselves.In the hotly-contested final day of speed skating, Malaysia's 500m gold medallist Anya Chong kept her cool to win a second Games medal from the 1,000m short track event with Ashley Chin taking the bronze.The two girls came back to pick up a fourth gold medal for Malaysia in the 3,000m relay with Nor Marissa Ahmad Lokman and See Wan Ni in tow before the men's team also took the 3,000m relay gold.The first gold was won by figure skater Julian Yee.In weightlifting, Malaysia's best show was a silver from Mohamad Fazrul Azrie in the men's 85kg with a 323kg total including 182kg in the clean and jerk that smashed his own national record of 181 set in May this year.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
