See you again: The Malaysian contingent walking through the arena during the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou. — AP
IT was a successful Asian Games for Malaysia but more can be done.
Chef de mission Datuk Chong Kim Fatt is hoping for a bigger budget so that athletes can continue with their good showing from the Asian Games to achieving more success in other major tournaments and also the Olympic Games in Paris next year.
He hailed the contingent’s 14th placing with a medal haul of 6-8-18 as a big success. The total of 32 had surpassed their 27-medal target.
Kim Fatt does not want the good work at Asiad to stop and is hopeful for the Malaysian Cabinet to increase the budget for the sports industry especially with the Olympics coming up next year.
“We had a discussion with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah (Yeoh) in Hangzhou. She will bring some of our suggestions to the Cabinet, especially in terms of grants for the sports industry,” said Kim Fatt.The budget will help athletes to continue their training overseas, for competitions abroad and for engaging expertise for athletes who are based here.
“The budget is on Oct 13 and we hope for an increase and then, we can look at what can be done to enhance our sports especially with the Olympics coming up.”
Although this year’s edition saw the contingent falling short of one gold medal won at the last edition in Indonesia, Kim Fatt was thrilled.
He pointed out that 21 of those who contributed the 32 medals were first timers.
Malaysia were represented by 288 athletes competing in 22 sports out of 40. At the last Games, Malaysia had 417 athletes competing in 28 sports.
“The medal-to-athlete ratio is lower in the Hangzhou Asian Games compared to Jakarta-Palembang five years ago. It shows improvement. I’m satisfied with the achievement in Hangzhou.”
In Hangzhou, Malaysia’s gold medals came from squash (three), sailing (one), equestrian (one) and karate (one).
The winners were women’s squash team comprising S.Sivasangari, Aifa Azman, Aira Azman and Rachel Arnold; Sivasangari (women’s singles); Ng Eain Yow (men’s singles); karate exponent Mohd Arif Afifuddin Malik (men’s kumite under 84kg); sailor Nur Shazrin Latif (women’s single handed dinghy ILCA 6); and rider Qabil Ambak (individual dressage).
