SUKMA Showdown: Sarawak’s Lead Slims As Federal Territories Close In

By Vikneswaran Raman

KUCHING, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- The race for the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) overall championship title is heating up, with host Sarawak and the Federal Territories (FT) locked in a close fight, separated only by three gold medals as of 11 pm. 

Sarawak hit their target of 70 gold medals today, but has yet to secure to overall title after FT narrowed the gap from 10 golds on Wednesday to just seven yesterday.

As the Games head into their final day tomorrow, Sarawak’s hold on the top spot is increasingly tenuous after accumulating 72 golds, 52 silvers, and 66 bronzes. FT are hot on their heels with 69-62-68.

Sarawak have been overall champions three times before, in 1990, 1992 and 1994, while FT were crowned overall champion in the inaugural 1986 edition (then known as Kuala Lumpur) and in 2014.

Tomorrow's competitions offer 45 gold medals, with 14 in sailing, seven in esports, six for chess, five each in artistic gymnastics and badminton, two respectively in hockey, cricket and petanque and one gold in table tennis.

Also in the spotlight is the men’s football final between FT and Melaka for the ‘mother of all golds’, which will kick off at the Mukah Stadium at 3 pm. 

The two sports offering the highest number of gold medals - athletics and aquatics - will conclude after five days of intense competition.

FT emerged kings of the pool with a haul of 16 golds from the 41 offered, while Sarawak continued their dominance in diving, sweeping nine golds out of the 12 at stake.

Johor, meanwhile, defended their track and field crown with nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes.

National runner Umar Osman, representing Johor, excelled with a record-breaking 800m run, clocking in at 1 minute and 51.19 seconds, surpassing the previous 32-year-old SUKMA record of 1:52.35s set by G. Ampumani from Armed Forces in 1992, earning his fourth personal gold medal.

Three national records were shattered by two weightlifters from Terengganu, with Siti Aqilah Farhana Draman breaking both the snatch and total lift records in the women’s over 76 kg category, while Muhammad Izzan Ismadi set a new clean and jerk record in the men’s 96 kg category.

Roommates at the National Sports Council (NSC) Bukit Jalil hostel, Muhammad Bariq Adif Mat Daud and Wilson Yeoh Wei Sin, representing Johor and Penang respectively, shared the gold in the artistic gymnastics rings event, each earning 12.000 points.

Also, Selangor made history by winning their first-ever gold medal in women’s football after a stunning 3-1 victory over favourites Sabah, while their men’s futsal team clinched gold for the first time with a 2-0 win over the hosts.

-- BERNAMA