HANGZHOU – The cold weather in Hangzhou did not dampen the spirit of the Malaysian contingent who picked up a gold medal and four bronze medals on the seventh day of the 2022 Asian Games today.
It began with the women's squash team comprising Rachel Arnold, S. Sivasangari and siblings Aira and Aifa Azman who contributed gold in the women's team event after defeating defending champions Hong Kong 2-1 in the finals.
The success at the Hangzhou Olympic Games Centre Squash Court allowed Malaysia to regain the title after finishing third at the 2018 edition in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia.
The achievement made up for the failure of the men's team to defend the gold medal from the last edition when they finished third.
Meanwhile, the Hangzhou Olympic Stadium witnessed the revival of Malaysian athletics through USA-based athletes Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi and Shereen Samson Vallabouy who made their debut at the Asian Games.
Muhammad Azeem finished the men's 100 metres (m) final in third place with a time of 10.11 seconds (s), ending the country's wait of over four decades for a podium finish in the blue ribbon event since Datuk Rabuan Pit won gold in New Delhi, India, in 1982.
Earlier, Shereen ended Malaysia's 17-year wait to bring home a medal in an athletics event at the Asian Games, also clinching a bronze after finishing the women's 400m event in third place with a time of 52.58s.
At the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena, the diving camp won two bronze medals, namely through Datuk Pandelela Rinong-Nur Dhabitah Sabri in the women's synchronised 10m platform event and Muhammad Syafiq Puteh-Ooi Tze Liang in the men's synchronised 3m springboard event.
The result saw Pandelela-Nur Dhabitah repeat the feat achieved by Nur Dhabitah-Datuk Leong Mun Yee in the last edition.
The bronze by newly paired Muhammad Syafiq-Tze Liang, meanwhile, saw Malaysia regain a podium finish in the event after the Tze Liang-Chew Yiwe partnership finished fourth five years ago.
Malaysia confirmed a place in the semi-finals of the Dota2 event after defeating Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the second quarter-final at the Hangzhou E-Sports Centre. They will play China tomorrow in their bid to book their spot in the final.
There was a setback, however, in the hockey camp, when the men's squad lost 3-4 to South Korea in their fourth Group B game at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium. The Speedy Tigers will need to win their final match against China on Monday (Oct 2) to qualify for the semi-finals.
Shooting, 3x3 basketball, boxing and Go also did not fare well today.
Tomorrow's focus will be on divers Nur Dhabitah-Ng Yan Yee who will compete in the women's 3m synchronised springboard event and the pair of Bertrand Rhodict Lises-Enrique Maccartney Harold in the men's 10m synchronised platform event.
At the end of today’s events, Malaysia sit in 12th position in the medal table after securing three gold, three silver and 12 bronze medals, while China still reigns supreme with a collection of 114-68-34, followed by Japan in second place (28-38-39) and South Korea in third (27-29-54). – Bernama, October 1, 2023
