PETALING JAYA: Triple jump athlete Andre Anura Anuar is set to carry the Jalur Gemilang as he leads Malaysia’s contingent during the opening ceremony of the Thailand SEA Games tonight at Rajamangala National Stadium.
This is the first time Andre has been given the honour after years as a national athlete, and he will be joined by water skier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah.
“I want to thank the NSC (National Sports Council) for trusting me to be the flag bearer for this SEA Games.
“I was only informed two days before the flag handover ceremony last Thursday. At first, I thought I was just a candidate, because our contingent includes athletes from other sports who are world champions or runners-up, so I wasn’t sure if it was official.
“Honestly, I was surprised to be chosen, but it has become a real motivation for me for this SEA Games,” said Andre.
The Sabahan is aiming to defend his triple jump gold for the third consecutive SEA Games, having previously claimed the title at the 2021 Hanoi edition.
He will also compete in the long jump, an event in which he won a silver medal at the 2019 Manila Games.
“I’ve a chance in both events. I will compete in the triple jump first and then have a four-day break before the long jump, which gives me time to recover.
“The schedule this time is better than at the 2023 Phnom Penh Games, where the long jump usually came first followed by the triple jump. Perhaps the hosts wanted to give an advantage to the Thai jumpers, but it doesn’t matter because I can perform in either event,” he added.
Malaysia’s 1,655 members to this edition of the Games, including 1,140 athletes and 515 officials, will compete in 50 sports across 459 events.
Malaysia are now aiming to collect 200 medals of any colour and are eyeing a spot among the top five in the overall standings.
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