From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif
HANGZHOU: The incredible performance of national female sailor Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif over the past four days helped the Malaysian contingent register its first gold medal on the fifth day of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games which was also the only medal won by Malaysia on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old dominated the competition throughout the five-day race at Dongqian Lake before being crowned the winner of the women’s ILCA 6 event as the final race today was canceled due to the lack of wind for the competition.
With that success, Nur Shazrin who hails from Pasir Gudang, Johor not only won her first Asian Games gold after bringing home the radial laser bronze at the 2018 edition in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, but confirmed her place in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The atmosphere for the sailing squad at the Ningbo Xiangshan Cruise Center, more than 170 km from here, turned teary when the Negaraku was played and the Jalur Gemilang raised for the first time at a medal presentation ceremony in the Games.
At the same time, the silver medal is already in the grasp of the national men’s sepak takraw team regu squad when Malaysia advanced to the team regu final in style after defeating Laos 2-0 at the Jinhua Sports Center Gymnasium.
It is not impossible for Ahmad Jais Baharun’s men to win the coveted gold in the final match this Friday but they face a tough task as their opponent Thailand will definitely want to defend the gold they won in the last edition.
With more pressure felt from Thailand, Malaysia should take the opportunity to seize the golden opportunity and improve the silver feat to redeem the loss to the same opponents.
The men’s and women’s squash squads have confirmed at least bronze after earning their slots to the team event semi-finals at the Hangzhou International Expo Centre.
Today’s focus is also on track cycling champion Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and his younger brother Muhammad Ridwan who did a good job to advance to the quarter-finals of the men’s individual sprint event at the Chun’an Jieshou Sports Center Velodrome.
The good news has helped to ease the disappointment in several sports and it is hoped that the contingent who will continue to see success including equestrian champion Mohd Qabil Ambak Mahamad Fathil who will perform in the final of the Intermediate 1 Individual Dressage event.
The silver medalist in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang edition, riding his horse Rosenstolz, collected 72.706 points at the Tonglu Equestrian Centre.
Malaysian badminton fans, meanwhile, can now rest easy knowing that their favourite players will begin their Asiad challenge tomorrow, with the men’s squad featuring first at the Binjiang Gymnasium.
Entering the sixth day of competition, Malaysia has won one gold, two silver and four bronze medals so far.
— BERNAMA
