Malaysia Banks On Archery For First Gold Medal

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- Archery has emerged as Malaysia’s best hope for the first gold medal from the 29th SEA Games following a revised schedule of events to accommodate the closing ceremony on August 30. The archery squad will compete in the compound events in place of synchronised swimming on August 16, three days before the SEA Games was to be officially opened. Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat of the 29th SEA Games and the 9th ASEAN Para Games (MASOC), Zolkples Embong said 17 sports and 25 disciplines were affected by the change. MASOC made the decision to revise the schedule after a meeting with the stakeholders, including the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), the National Sports Council (NSC), the national sports associations and the official broadcaster since it will involve live coverage. “As the games hosts, we are expecting a good start from the individual compound archery events for the men’s and the women’s. Chinlone sepak takraw can also deliver a medal on the first day of competition . "The 17 sports involved is less than 50 percent of the 38 sports contested. Four of the 17 days of competition are not affected,” he told reporters, here Wednesday. For the record, Malaysia won four out of five archery gold medals at the 2015 Singapore SEA Games. Among the sports affected are aquatics (diving and open water swimming), badminton, bowling, cricket, cycling (track, road, BMX), equestrian (polo), football (men / women), futsal (men / women), hockey (men / women), ice skating (figure / short track speed), muay, netball, sepak takraw, squash, taekwondo, triathlon, waterski and wakeboard and weightlifting. - BERNAMA