Cheers and jeers

THE HIGH FLYERS

Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan, Ng Eain Yow, Ivan Yuen (squash)

PODIUM Programme athletes Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan, Ng Eain Yow, Ivan Yuen and reserve player Mohd Syafiq Kamal did what the Ong Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar-led team failed to do at the last two Asian Games – win the gold for Malaysia. The team did not target to reach the final but they rose to the occasion to deliver the seventh gold for Malaysia to meet the Asiad target. They defeated favourites Hong Kong who boasted the strongest three-man line-up of Max Lee, Leo Au and Yip Tsz Fung – all ranked in the world’s top 25. It was an achievement to cherish for Nafiizwan, who was also in the team in Guangzhou (2010) and Incheon (2014).

Fauzi Kaman Shah (sailing)

FAUZI won seven out of the 12 races en route to taking gold in the 4.7 Laser Open class despite making the switch from Optimist racing just less than a year ago. The 15-year-old became the nation’s youngest medal winner at the Asian Games. It was only sailing’s fourth gold in the Asiad. Prior to the Asian breakthrough, he also won four golds at the SEA Games and one silver and one bronze at the World Championship. He is an inspiration to other young athletes.

Azizulhasni Awang (cycling)

MALAYSIA’S “Pocket Rocketman” powered to the men’s sprint gold in the Asian Games track cycling competition and celebrated by shaving his moustache. Standing at only 1.66m, the former world champion defeated Japan’s Fukaya Tomohiro in two heats in the final. Azizul had his moustache shaved by his coach John Beasley at the track side, using an electric razor. Azizul has another reason to be happy – he delievered Malaysia’s only gold medal in an Olympic event at the Asiad.

Azizul, the 2016 Olympic keirin bronze medallist, ran out of luck in the keirin final though. He was boxed in and Thailand’s Jai Angsuthasawit, coached by former Malaysian cyclist Josiah Ng, romped to gold.

Rafiq Ismail (bowling)

RAFIQ lived up to his billing as one of the top Asian bowlers by winning a gold and a silver in his second Asiad appearance. He’s the first men’s Masters champion in 40 years for Malaysia. And Rafiq did it in emphatic fashion, rolling nine strikes and one spare to pip South Korea’s defending champion Park Jong-woo to the gold. Rafiq had earlier teamed up with Timmy Tan and Ahmad Muaz Fishol to claim silver in the men’s trio. Head coach Holloway Cheah said the 21-year-old Rafiq will only get better.

Nur Dhabitah Sabri (diving)

NO seniors Cheong Jun Hoong and Pandelela Rinong, no problem. The 19-year-old Dhabitah stepped up to take the leading role by delivering three out of Malaysia’s four diving medals at the Asiad. After a quiet debut in Incheon, she combined with Wendy Ng Yan Yee to win silver (3m springboard synchro) and bronze with Leong Mun Yee (10m platform synchro) before taking bronze in the 3m springboard individual. She could have won a fourth medal in the 1m springboard individual but was denied by a mere 2.30 points by South Korea’s Kim Su-ji.

UNDER ACHIEVERS

Johnathan Wong (shooting)

OLYMPIAN Johnathan was expected to make an impact as he was making his second appearance in the Asiad but the 26-year-old fired blanks in Palembang. The Kuala Lumpur SEA Games gold medallist finished a dismal 24th in the men’s 10m air pistol with a score of 570. At his Asiad debut in Incheon, he finished 22nd with 574. Obviously, there is no improvement at high-level competition.

Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari (pencak silat)

THREE-TIME world champion silat exponent Al-Jufferi had high expectations in the 65-70kg class but lost 1-4 to Adi Putra Komang Harik of Indonesia in the final. He alleged that biased judging put paid to his hopes of winning gold and walked out of the fight. He showed poor attitude by punching a hole in the changing room wall in his frustration. His defeat had a chain reaction as three other exponents ended up losing their final matches.

Syakilla Salni Jefri Krisnan (karate)

SYAKILLA was the hero of the karate squad in her Asian Games debut in Incheon four years ago when she fought her way to gold in the women’s kumite below 61kg event despite a hamstring injury. But in Jakarta, the pressure proved too much as she was floored in the first round of the women’s kumite below 55kg category by eventual winner Wen Tzu-yun of Taiwan. She did not win any medal after losing to Macau’s Lam Sok I in the repechage for the bronze. The only memory she brought back was being the flagbearer for the Malaysian contingent.

Khairul Anuar Mohamad, Muhd Akmal Nur Hasrin and Haziq Kamaruddin (archery)

THE trio came to Indonesia targeting to at least defend their silver but Khairul, Akmal and Haziq failed when their challenge ended after the first round. They were outclassed 6-0 by Iran. It’s a disappointing outing considering they had reached the semi-finals twice at the World Cup. Their defeat is unacceptable as they received good support under the Podium Programme. Head coach Lee Jae-hyung said they crumbled under pressure. Will they be able to handle the pressure at the next Olympic Games?

Ooi Tze Liang (diving)

IF only his performance is as impressive as his Facebook and Instagram postings.

Ooi Tze Liang has failed to make a mark since winning gold in the men’s springboard at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He failed to defend the gold at this year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and sunk into oblivion in his third Asiad appearance. He finished seventh in the 3m springboard individual and failed to defend his silver in the 3m springboard synchro with Chew Yiwei. He is an elite athlete and should not treat the Asiad as an exposure trip.