Rising talent: From left: Adania Mohd Redzwan, Harith Danial Jefri, Aiman Syafiq Tariki, Danish Iftikhar Mohd Roslee, Gan Chen Jie, Nurul Farisya Alia Affendi and Mikail Ghazali.
BANGKOK: There is great hope when Kuala Lumpur plays host in two years’ time. Young stars have surfaced in Thailand, with many of them already winning places on the podium.
Some even became gold medallists in their debuts, giving the country optimism about topping the table in Kuala Lumpur.
Of the 1,138 athletes who competed in Thailand, more than half were SEA Games debutants, said National Sports Council director-general Jefri Ngadirin.
Of the 646 who made their debut in Thailand, 40% - or 255 athletes - won medals.
There were also 412 Under-21 athletes in Thailand and 43% - or 178 - returned with medals from Thailand.
“This shows good progress for us as the hosts of the next SEA Games in 2027,” Jefri said during a press conference.
“Our total medal tally is the highest we’ve gotten at any SEA Games outside of Kuala Lumpur.
“This year we came in fourth, which is an improvement from the finish in Cambodia, where we were seventh.
“This is good progress and shows that we are on track to be overall champions in 2027,” said Jefri.
Notable new faces at the SEA Games that won gold were rifle shooter Gan Chen Jie, who broke the SEA Games record en route to bagging the women’s 50m rifle three positions event in her debut.
The squash camp saw all seven new faces bring back gold medals, led by Sanjay Jeeva who defeated Duncan Lee in the men’s singles final, Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi clinched the title from compatriot Yee Xing Ying, and Harith Danial Jefri won a double with K. Sehveetrraa (mixed jumbo doubles) and Low Wa Sern (men’s jumbo).
Archer Aiman Syafiq Tariki, 19, was also making his international debut but still won gold in the team compound event, while first-time SEA Games athlete Quik Chern Xin, 18, brought home silver from the men’s individual recurve event.
On the running track, young sprinter Mohd Danish Iftikhar Mohd Roslee clocked a new national record of 20.73s to get bronze in the men’s 200m race. He also won bronze in the 100m and then set a new national record of 38.03s in the men’s 4x100m quartet with two other debutants, Aliff Iman Mohd Fahimi and Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam.
Throw in sprinter Mohd Azeem Fahmi, who is now training in the United States, and Malaysia should be a force at the next Games.
Divers Nur Eilisha Rania, 20, and Nurul Farisya Alia Affendi, 15, gave Malaysia hope of staying as the best in the region, beating divers from Singapore and Indonesia.
In mixed martial arts, 16-year old Mikail Ghazali won gold, keeping his family tradition alive. He should be good for more in two years.
At the lanes, debutant bowlers Adania Mohd Redzwan and Nur Hazirah Ramli fought hard but had to settle for bronze in the women’s doubles event.
Nonetheless, the girls were proud.
