Sarawak on track to hit Sukma 70-gold target well before finale

KUCHING (Aug 22): Hosts Sarawak are charging towards their target of 70 gold medals at the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma), now needing just 16 more to achieve their mission of being overall champions.

As of last night, Sarawak surged ahead in the medal standings with 54 gold, 33 silver, and 44 bronze, with a firm lead over Federal Territories at second place with 45 gold, 39 silver, and 49 bronze. Terengganu are in third with 28 gold, 26 silver, and 27 bronze.

With 198 gold medals still to be contested in the final three days of the Games, Sarawak are on track to surpass its target well before the curtain comes down on Saturday.

The state, champions in 1990, 1992, and 1994, are aiming to end a 30-year championship drought.

Meanwhile, national records fell today as Perlis’ Muhammad Hafizuddin Roslin and Selangor’s Andrew Goh both set new benchmarks in weightlifting and swimming respectively.

At the Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan Sports Hall in Betong, Muhammad Hafizuddin set a new standard in weightlifting, breaking the national record eight times in the snatch, clean and jerk and overall total.

At the Pandelela Rinong Aquatic Centre here, meanwhile, Andrew Goh set two new national records in swimming, clocking 28.03 seconds (s) in the heats and 27.40s in the final of the 50m breaststroke, which also set a new Sukma record.

In the 50m breaststroke, Isabelle Chiyi Buckley of the Federal Territories (FT) broke the Games record twice, with times of 32.83 seconds (s) in the heats and 32.76 seconds in the final to win gold.

In the men’s 1,500m freestyle, FT’s Muhammad Dhuha Zulfikry also set a new Sukma record with a time of 15 minutes 51.53s to claim gold.

Games records continued to fall in the pool, with the FT quartet of Yap Min Shun, Bryan Leong Xin Ren, Muhammad Dhuha Zulfikry, and Jayden Tan setting a new record of 3:25.52s en route to bagging the men’s 4x100m freestyle event.

In the women’s 4x100m freestyle, the Selangor quartet of Morgan Eleven Teo Kai Cheng, Yoong Jia Jia, Lim Shun Qi, and Khew Zi Xian splashed their way to the gold in a new Games record time of 3:55.84s.

The athletics competition at the Sarawak Stadium also saw national runner Johor’s Umar Osman blitz his way to the men’s 400m gold in a new Games record time of 46.78s.

Sarawak’s Ng Jing Xuan then set a new Games mark in women’s javelin after hurling it to a distance of 45.12m to defend the gold she won in the previous edition.

Cheah Zen Hong of Pahang and Gan Chen Jie of Negeri Sembilan each gunned down their seventh gold medal on the final day of the shooting competition at the Sarawak Shooting Range, making them among the leading gold medallists of Sukma 2024, so far.

Meanwhile, the silat competition at the Miri City Stadium will be held without spectators from tomorrow onwards following an incident earlier today where a water bottle was thrown into the ring during a bout. — Bernama