KUALA LUMPUR: Table tennis star Javen Choong powered Malaysia to their first-ever overall title at the Sea Championships in Bangkok today.
Malaysia clinched five of the seven gold medals on offer, with Javen contributing to four of them — men's singles, doubles, mixed doubles (with Karen Lyne) and the team event.
Karen Lyne-Tee Ai Xin added the fifth gold in the women's doubles.
The Malaysian contingent also bagged two silver and four bronze medals, marking their best-ever performance at the championships.
In today's men's singles final, Javen staged a thrilling comeback to defeat Vietnam's Nguyen Anh Tu 10-12, 11-8, 12-14, 11-8, 11-9.
He then teamed up with Wong Qi Shen in the men's doubles final to overpower Vietnam's Anh Tu-Nguyen Doan Kien Tan 11-7, 11-9, 11-8.
Karen-Ai Xin secured their gold in the women's doubles with a commanding 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 victory over Vietnam's Tran Mai Ngoc-Nguyen Thi Nga.
In the women's singles, Vietnam's Kim Trang Nguyen dashed Malaysia's hopes of another gold, beating Ai Xin 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7.
Singapore claimed their sole title in the women's team event.
The 23-year-old Javen said: "I was only aiming for one gold in the doubles with Qi Shen, so winning four is just fantastic.
"It's my best-ever outing at the Sea Championships and a great boost for future competitions," said Javen, who won a silver medal at last year's edition in Bangkok.
Javen highlighted another milestone this season when he and Qi Shen claimed the doubles bronze at the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan last month.
National coach Beh Lee Wei hailed the team's historic achievement in Bangkok.
"It's Malaysia's best-ever performance at the Sea Championships. Winning five titles and the overall championship is incredible," said Lee Wei.
"However, we should not get too carried away as Thailand and Singapore did not field their strongest players. Still, this is a huge motivation for the team moving forward."