Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin declares open the 12th Malaysia Games in Kuala Terengganu last night.
THE Malaysia Games medal flow starts today with the State Aquatics Centre in Batu Burok offering the most for the day — a heap of eight gold medals.
Prospects of action are backed by many unsettled scores in the pool which has the very best in Malaysian swimming at this moment.
National swimmer Chui Lai Kwan will want to make up for lost ground when she makes a return to the pool after national swimmers were barred from previous editions, and she is expected to win a three-pronged battle with Perak’s Cheng Karmen and Terengganu’s Carmen Ooi in the 50m backstroke.
Daniel Bego makes his entry looking for his first gold in the 200m freestyle, while the women’s 200m freestyle will be another open battle between Perak’s Karmen, Terengganu’s Carmen, Sabah’s Lai Wei Li and Federal Territories’ (FT) Heidi Gan.
The queen of the Kedah ‘06 edition Lew Yih Wey, of Negri Sembilan, will attract the attention when she enters the pool for the 400m medley as the hot favourite, while national swimmer Melvin Chua of FT is likely to have an easy job landing the men’s 400m medley.
Penang’s Lee Way Joe, winner of seven gold medals in 2006, starts his campaign with the strong ability to deliver his State’s first gold medal in the 50m backstroke, with Selangor’s national swimmer Foo Jian Beng as the main threat.
Pahang are likely to take their first swimming gold medal in the 100m breaststroke through national swimmer Yap See Tuan.
Bowling opens its lanes at the new Diman Superbowl, which was built into the first floor of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak, with the women’s singles featuring 2006 gold medallist Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi of Perak as the early favourite.
Sabah can also count on a double from cross country mountain biking where their strength sees any one of three women — 2004 gold medallist Anita Markus, Laure Avila Adrian and Brittney Adllyne Anang — capable of winning.
In the men’s event, there’s no denying the fact that Sabah’s defending champion J. R. Stanly Jalip is the hottest prospect for gold, with teammate Niklos Minol his strongest adversary.
In the karate arena in Wakaf Tapai, Marang, national kata exponent Tan Chee Seng is the firm favourite in the men’s individual kata while Chin Fang Ying has been tasked with making it a double in the women’s event, as Penang look to continue their long dominance.
Of the four kata events, only the men’s team gold eluded Penang in 2006.
Fencing opens its doors with the men’s individual epee and women’s individual foil, with FT looking good for the first gold through Howard Chew, albeit after an expected battle with Selangor Open champion Joshua Koh of Selangor, while Johor’s national fencer Natasha Ezzra Abu Bakar starts as the hot favourite in the foil.
The first day of the medal chase is going to literally run right to midnight as equestrian’s 80km endurance race, which starts at 4pm, is expected to run for eight hours.
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