UBON RATCHATHANI, Thailand: Congratulations are in order to the Malaysian contingent for a job well done at the 20th Asean University Games (AUG).
The initial target was 35 gold, then changed to 45 but when the curtains came down on the Games here yesterday the Malaysian contingent's total gold haul was 49 and Malaysia finished in second place behind hosts Thailand.
The initial 35-gold target was surpassed by the national contingent within eight days of the Games.
The tremendous achievement put to rest the notion that the initial target would be a challenge to realise due to the fact that several athletes with medal prospects had to be released to participate in other games taking place simultaneously during the same period as the AUG.
The gold medal success among others was spurred by the karate squad who put on an excellent performance and contributed six gold medals.
Other sports were also no less great such as wushu which contributed five gold medals, pencak silat (four), chess (four), badminton (four), fencing (three), while taekwondo and rowing one each.
Swimming and archery were expected to shine but were a little off the mark as they contributed six (target eight) and four gold medals (target five) respectively.
The athletics camp were high-flyers contributing 11 gold medals thus making the sport a gold mine at this AUG.
However, the desire to see the "mother of all gold medals" brought home did not materialise after the football squad lost in the final at the hands of Thailand but equalled the silver medal achievement at AUG 2008 in Kuala Lumpur.
Futsal and wall climbing were out to gain exposure at this AUG and did not contribute any medals.
Chef-de-mission, Prof Dr Mohd Fo'ád Sakdan said the meticulous and systematic preparation helped Malaysia to emerge overall runners-up in AUG 2022 with a haul of 49 gold, 83 silver and 50 bronze.
"We started (preparations) at the beginning of the year and this time, we have standard operating procedures (SOP) which can be used for preparation for the next Games. There are things that can be improved to achieve more outstanding success.
"The athletes showed a high fighting spirit and did not give up easily. We will analyse the existing weaknesses and improve on them to strengthen the preparations for AUG 2024 in Surabaya," he said.
Thailand were overall champions with a 109-61-42 medal haul while Indonesia were third (43-38-38). -- BERNAMA