M’sian gymnast Izzah stripped of one gold medal as SEA Games rhythmic gymnastics controversy continues

KUALA LUMPUR: Rhythmic gymnast Izzah Amzan (pic) was all smiles when she posed with her two gold medals - the ball and ribbon - which she had won at the Philippines SEA Games but now, she has to return one of it.

The 19-year-old Izzah has been stripped of the shared gold medal she won in the ribbon with teammate Koi Sie Yan as controversy continues to hit rhythmic gymnastics.

Izzah was declared as the joint winner with Sie Yan on Dec 7 amidst protest over biased judging but a day later, the poor gymnast was relegated to the second spot with a silver.

In the medal tally as of Dec 8, a statement was written that Izzah has been awarded silver instead of gold by the technical delegate.

The reason for the decision is unknown but it is learnt that the technical delegate decided to follow the rules from the world body (FIG) according to the tie-break procedure.

With the latest setback, Malaysia's latest medal tally has been altered from 41 to 40.

It's learnt that Malaysia chef de mission Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin is expected to protest to reinstate the gold medal Monday.