Malaysia's gold-medal target at SEA Games in doubt

The Malaysian contingent's chances of achieving even the modest target of 40 gold medals at the 2023 SEA Games looks impossible with only two days of competition remaining before the games draw down its curtain on Wednesday (May 17).

Though on paper there are two days to go, competitions for medals come to a close today which is the penultimate day as the final day has been reserved for the closing ceremony.

After 10 days of competition, the Malaysian contingent has managed to win 30 gold 42 silver and 85 bronze, which on a percentage basis is just 75 percent of the target.

The 30-gold medal accumulated over the 10 days saw Malaysia remain in the seventh spot and by the looks of what has been achieved thus far, even surpassing Singapore would be an impossible task since the republic state which is only comparable to a single state in the peninsula has managed to accumulate 45 gold, 38 silver and 57 bronze to capture sixth spot.

The current seventh position is certainly unchartered territory for Malaysia since the country had always finished among the top five in the medal tally.
 
Malaysia has only been in such a predicament twice in the history of the SEA Games, namely a sixth-place finish during the 1983 edition in Singapore and Hanoi, Vietnam last year.

In all of yesterday's competitions, taekwondo saved the blushes on a rather dry day when taekwondo exponent Muhammad Syafiq Zuber lifted the gloom by taking the gold medal in the men's under-80kg to give the Malaysian contingent its 30th gold medal.

Today, the country's medal focus will be on hockey where Malaysian men and women have qualified for the final, while medal hopes will also hinge on sepak takraw (inter-regu), table tennis and badminton.

Malaysians will also see action in dance sports, traditional boat races and kickboxing.

Meanwhile, after 10 days of competition, Vietnam has crowned itself as the overall champion after collecting 123 gold, 100 silver and 97 bronze, followed by Thailand 94-76-93, while Indonesia are in third spot with 74-66-92.