KUALA LUMPUR – The dust has settled on the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, which saw Malaysia surpass its 27-medal target.
Pushed back a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hangzhou was the third Chinese city to host the games, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.
Drama happened even before the opening ceremony as Malaysia’s golden hope in track cycling, Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, withdrew himself from the competition after a high-speed crash in training left him with bone and muscle contusions, as well as soft tissue damage.
His replacement, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, put on a commendable performance, taking home two bronze medals in the sprint and keirin events.
Sailor Nur Shazrin binti Mohamad Latif gave Malaysia a golden start by winning her Single Dinghy – ILCA6 event at the Ningbo Xiangshan Sailing Centre.
The gold sealed her qualification for the Paris Olympics next year.
Mohd Qabil Ambak Mahamad Fathil, with his horse Rosenstolz, then won the country’s first-ever gold in the equestrian category.
Squash shone the brightest, taking home three golds, one more than had been targeted.
Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari took home individual golds, while the latter then teamed up with Aifa Azman, Aira Azman, and Rachel Arnold to win the women’s team event.
Then there was a surprise gold from Muhammad Arif Afifuddin Ab Malik. The karateka had to battle through injuries and pain, but his lightning-quick reflexes allowed him to win gold in the men’s kumite below 84-kg event.
On the track, there was plenty to shout about with US-based runners Azeem Fahmi and Shereen Samson Vallabouy ending long medal droughts for Malaysia.
Azeem ended a 41-year wait for a medal in the 100m with a stunning sprint for bronze.
While Shereen ended a 17-year wait after also clinching bronze in the 400m, she also added another bronze by shattering the national record in the 4x100m.
The quartet of Shereen, Azreen Nabila Alias, Nur Afrina Batrisyia, and Zaidatul Husniah Zulkilfli clocked 45.01s to erase the previous mark of 45.18s.
But despite that, there were a few disappointments in Hangzhou.
Badminton fell short of their two silver and one bronze target, only winning bronze through the men’s doubles pair and former world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
Road to Gold (RTG) athletes like Lee Zii Jia, Ng Tze Yong, and Pearly Tan-M Thinaah put up good performances but ultimately failed to contribute to the medal haul.
The men’s national hockey team was brought into the RTG programme specifically to win qualification for the Paris Games next year by winning gold in Hangzhou.
But their disastrous campaign came to an end after a 5-2 thrashing by Pakistan left them in sixth place.
There are a couple of honourable mentions at this Asiad, namely artistic gymnast Muhammad Sharul Aimy Mohd Kamaru Hisam, who ended Malaysia’s 17-year wait for a medal with bronze.
The last male gymnast to win a medal in artistic gymnastics was Ng Shu Wai, who clinched silver at Doha 2006.
Diving queen Pandelela Rinong Pamg, after a poor Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, fought through the pain barrier to win two bronze medals.
Looking at Malaysia’s gold haul, there is some cause for concern as half of the tally is contributed by a non-Olympic sport – squash.
But the overall 32-medal haul will surely be cause for the higher-ups to call this Asiad campaign a smashing success as it surpasses the 27 colorless medal target by five. – October 9, 2023