Malaysia at the 2006 Asian Games

Malaysia at the 15th Asian Games
Flag of Malaysia IOC code  MAS NOC Olympic Council of Malaysia Website www.olympic.org.my (English)
2006 Asian Games in Doha
Competitors	244
Medals Rank: 11	Gold 8	Silver 17	Bronze 17	Total 42
Asian Games history (summary)
Asian Games
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Asian Winter Games
2007 • 2011
Asian Indoor Games
2005 • 2007 • 2009
Asian Beach Games
2008 • 2010
Asian Martial Arts Games
2009
Asian Youth Games
2009
Other related appearances
North Borneo (1954 • 1958 • 1962) Sarawak (1962)
Southeast Asian Games history
Southeast Asian Games
1977 • 1979 • 1981 • 1983 • 1985 • 1987 • 1989 • 1991 • 1993 • 1995 • 1997 • 1999 • 2001 • 2003 • 2005 • 2007 • 2009

Malaysia participated in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. The country is represented by 244 athletes competing in 23 of the 39 sports provided. Among the popular sports to look out for are aquatics, athletics, badminton, bodybuilding, bowling, cycling, hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, kabaddi, karate-do, sepak takraw, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting and wushu. ^[1]

Despite preparing to fire on all cylinders at the Doha Asian Games and targeting for gold medals from "Olympic" sports such as badminton, hockey and swimming, Malaysia's bulk of medals might come from "non-Olympic" sports.

A gold medal each is expected to come from the tenpin bowling, karate, squash, wushu and sepak takraw squads.

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 2006 Asian Games

Unexpectedly, 15 years old Tan Rufina Hong Mui, who take part in the women optimist event, won a gold for her country, winning the 1st medal in the sailing events of Malaysia this year, as well as the 1st gold medal in Asian game since 1994. She has a total points of 30, 12 points higher than the silver Japanese, Komiya Haruka.

In the Laser 4.7 Open, Malaysia's Anuar Nurul Elia also successfully won a bronze with a total points of 47 points after 12 race.

Karate

Main article: Karate at the 2006 Asian Games

Malaysian national karate coach Arivalagan Ponniyah is tipping his eight-member karate squad to return from Doha with two gold medals and eight overall.

Team captain and Busan 2002 gold medallist Puvaneswaran Ramasamy is Malaysia’s best karate prospect. The highly experienced 32 year-old will be contesting his fourth Asian Games in the kumite -55 kg category and is a Southeast Asian Games and Asian Championship winner.

"Puvaneswaran has been in this sport since the age of 14 and has been fighting since 1990. I believe he will still be able to contribute in Doha," said Arivalagan, a bronze medallist at the 1988 Bangkok Asian Games.

Arivalagan believes his squad of six kumite (fighting) and two kata (demonstration) competitors can win two gold medals in Doha after encouraging performances in the World Championships in Finland in October when Yamini Gopalasamy (women’s -60 kg), Marial Vasantha (women’s -48 kg) and Lim Yoke Wai (men’s -65 kg) reached semifinals in kumite.

"We have been competing in the World Championship since 1972, but for the first time we advanced to the semifinal stage; that is an improvement in my opinion, so I hope that the inspiring performances by the athletes will continue in Doha."

"We came back with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals from Busan so this time we hope to return with eight medals from Doha."

The Karate event had begun on 12 December, but on the 1st day, Malaysia already bagged 5 medal, including 4 silver and a bronze. Ramasamy Puvaneswaran, Lakanathan Kunasilan, Ku Jin Keat and Anthony Vasantha Marial had won a silver in Men's Kumite -55 kg, Men's Kumite -60 kg, Men's individual Kata and Women's Kumite -48 kg events respectively, while Lim Lee Lee won a bronze in Women's individual Kata event.

Event	Medal	Name
Men's Kumite -55 kg		RAMASAMY Puvaneswaran
Men's Kumite -60 kg		LAKANATHAN Kunasilan
Men's Kumite -65 kg		LIM Yoke Wai
Men's individual Kata		KU Jin Keat
Women's Kumite -48 kg		ANTHONY Vasantha Marial
Women's Kumite -60 kg		GOPALASAMY Yamini
Women's individual Kata		LIM Lee Lee

Bowling

Main article: Bowling at the 2006 Asian Games

Esther Cheah realised her dream by winning a gold medal at the Asian Games, just as her father and current Malaysian national coach Holloway Cheah had done in the men’s team of five event back in 1978.

The 20 year-old became the first Malaysian to win the tenpin bowling women’s singles with an Asian Games record of 1,444 for a six game series and an average of 240.7.

“I trained her very hard for it,” Holloway Cheah said after his daughter’s victory. “I leave everything with the Lord and I’m very proud for her. I knew that she could make it. It is the best Asian Games that I have attended in my life.”

Indonesia’s Putty Insavilla Armein had to settle for silver – the first ever medal for her country in women’s singles at the Asian Games – despite earlier breaking the eight-year old record with a total of 1,395.

However Armein refused to be downhearted after the competition, paying tribute to Cheah instead: “I was not disappointed, she did better today. The battle of the day is over. My best today was not good enough to get the gold.

“I didn’t know I had [set a then record], but I am feeling extremely happy that I did that. What I did today is my best performance in this event.”

Angkana Netrviseth claimed the bronze medal – an early present for her 17th birthday which falls on 24 December – with a total of 1,331, three pins better than that of Japanese bowler Kanako Ishimine.

Esther Cheah also helped Malaysia win the women’s team of five crown with a Games record 6,555 total for a six-game series, but had to settle for silver in the all events competition behind Choi Jin A of Korea on Friday 8 December.

The medals took Cheah’s personal haul at Doha 2006 to two gold medals and two silver, the 20 year-old having already become the first Malaysian to win the women’s singles and then claimed silver in the women’s trios.

Cheah and teammates Sharon Koh Suet Len, Wendy Chai De Choo, Zandra Aziela and Shalin Zulkifli at the Qatar Bowling Centre to shatter the previous six-game record of 6,272 – set by Japan in Busan four years ago.

However this was not the only record the Malaysians claimed on the way to victory, posting new benchmarks for a one-game series and three-game series which had stood at 1,156 and 3,183 respectively.

Malaysia took gold by 239 pins from the Korean quintet of Choi, Hwang Sun Ok, Gang Hye Eun, Kim Yeau Jin and Nam Bo Ra – the latter two having won the gold medal in this event in 2002 – who scored 6,316.

"We are very happy after winning gold today for the team of five. We got second in the last game of trios and after that we set our target for gold only and we have done it [as] this time we beat the team of Korea," Cheah said.

The bronze medal went to Tan Bee Leng, Cherie Tan Shi Hua, Evelyn Chan Lu Ee, Michelle Kwang Tien Mei and Valerie Teo Hui Ying of Singapore with their total of 6,239 being 165 pins better than the Chinese team.

Choi, who led the Korean team by example with the top total of her compatriots, though had cause to smile after pipping Cheah to the all events gold medal with an average of 222.5.

A bowler’s totals from the singles, doubles, trios and team of five competitions are added together to determine the all events champion, with Choi’s total of 5,339 being not only 43 pins better than that of Cheah, but also a Games record.

This gave Choi her fourth medal of the Games like Cheah, the Korean having also won silver in the doubles and bronze in the trios earlier in the week. Teo also collected her third medal with the bronze on 5,245, the Singaporean having also won the doubles with Kwang.

Event	Medal	Name
Men's Trios		HENG Boon Hian KONG Aaron Eng Chuan LIM Tow Chuang Daniel
Women's Singles		CHEAH Mei Lan Esther
Women's Five Player Teams		AZIELA Zandra CHAI De Choo Wendy CHEAH Mei Lan Esther CHOY Poh Lai KOH Suet Len Sharon ZULKIFLI Shalin
Women's All events		CHEAH Mei Lan Esther
Women's Trios		AZIELA Zandra CHEAH Mei Lan Esther ZULKIFLI Shalin
Women's Masters		CHEAH Mei Lan Esther

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 2006 Asian Games

Malaysian diver Elizabeth Jimie may only be 14 years old and have just two international appearances to her name, but she will be among the contenders to land a medal at the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Jimie is already a world champion after her victory on home soil in the Group B (14–15 years old) 1 m springboard event at the 16th World Youth Championships in Kuala Lumpur in August.

Jimie beat two Chinese divers to take that gold at the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) event, and become the first Malaysian female diver to win a world title – only a month after making her debut on the international stage at the World Cup in Changshu, China.

However Jimie, who comes from a family of four siblings in Kuching, is no stranger to the Malaysian scene. She was first drafted into the national squad as an 11-year-old, only to suffer from homesickness and return home to the state of Sarawak.

“I will be partnering Leong Mun Yee for the 3m sychronised event,” Jimie told The Star newspaper. “I will also compete in the 1m and 3m springboard individual events.

“It will be great to reach the final, but I want to concentrate on improving my diving skills.”

Malaysia has high hopes for her with Edwin Chong, the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) Secretary, admitting that “it is not beyond her abilities to win an Asian Games medal, especially in the 3m synchronised event”.

As a result, in the women's 3 m synchronised event held on 11 December, Malaysia team of Edwin Chong and Elizabeth Jimie has successfully bagged a bronze medal with a total point of 275.04 points, 50.40 points behind the gold medallist, China diving team. Although they didn't get the gold, but they seemed to be very impressed of themselves to get a bronze medal.

The next day, again Elizabeth Jimie got another bronze medal in the Women's 1 m Springboard Final, with 280.30 points. The other two Chinese girls had successfully get a gold and a silver. Another Malaysian, Leong Mun Yee, got 4th place in the game.

In the men's synchro 3 m springboard final, Malaysian representative of Roslan Rossharisham and Yeoh Ken Nee get a total result of 393.36, 55.14 points behind the china gold medallist and got another silver medal for Malaysia.

Yeoh Ken Nee, as Malaysia another medal prospect in the Men's 1m Springboard Final event, got a 4th place, with a difference of 19.35 points behind Japan's Terauchi Ken. Earlier in the preliminary round, Yeoh get a 3rd place, only slightly behind China's Luo and Qin.

Event	Medal	Name
Men's Synchro 3m Springboard		ROSLAN Rossharisham and YEOH Ken Nee
Women's 1m Springboard		JIMIE Elizabeth
Women's 3m Springboard		LEONG Mun Yee
Women's Synchro 3m Springboard		JIMIE Elizabeth and LEONG Mun Yee

Squash

Main article: Squash at the 2006 Asian Games

Nicol Ann David will be an obvious gold medal hopeful, being her No.1 current world ranking. The Penangite is in top condition after winning the Hong Kong Open last month. With a disastrous outing at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March this year, Nicol can be expected to give her 200 per cent to bag the Asiad gold medal as an apology to the country.

4 Malaysian had successfully get themselves into the men's and women's individual semifinals. However, Sharon Wee Ee Lin was defeated by Hong Kong's Chiu Wing Yin with 9-6, 9-1, 9-3. However, the Nicole Ann David and the other 2 Malaysian men's squash player had given a place in the final. As a result, Malaysia is ensure to win at least 1 gold 2 silver.

Defending champion Beng Hee Ong of Malaysia beat compatriot and top seed Mohamad Azlan Iskander to claim the gold medal in the men's singles squash final at Khalifa International Complex on Thursday.

In a closely fought encounter, which could have gone either way, Ong prevailed 5–9, 9–1,10–9, 9–5. Iskander began the stronger, winning a series of long rallies and he was good value for his first set win. But thereafter things went awry for the top seed and Ong began to dictate terms.

Iskander used gamesmanship on several occasions, prompting a number of lets during the match, but he was unable to disturb the concentration of Ong. Indeed it was Iskander who cracked first, throwing his racket to the ground in the crucial third game, which Ong just edged.

With Nicole Ann David’s comfortable victory in the women’s singles earlier in the day, Malaysia cleaned up on the courts, much to the delight of their supporters.

After the game, Ong said, "We've both done well. There were Malaysian finalists in both events. There were also a lot of VIPs here tonight, I see a lot of relieved faces!

"It's good to win, you never know when you can win another Asian Games gold medal. I was very nervous, I think he was very nervous too. I was very lucky to win the third game 10-9. If Azlan had won the third game 10-9, then it might have been a different story.

"I didn't think I played very well, but this was a tough match against a tough opponent who can easily dominate the court. I tried to use my mobility to move my opponent around the court."

Iskander said, "I just hit too many errors, made too many mistakes. It's not rocket science.

"I've been mentally tired. But the best athletes have to back it up every match. The objective is to win, simple."

As expected, World no 1 Nicol Ann David exorcised her demons of the last Asian Games, by winning gold in the women’s squash singles at the Khalifa International Complex on Thursday, 14 December. Four years ago she suffered a devastating loss to Chiu Wing Yin at the final in Busan, Korea which caused her to take a four month break from the game to reassess her career in the sport. But this time round it was a whole different story as she brushed aside her rival from Hong Kong, China 9–0, 9–3, 9–3 in just 30 minutes.

Clad in a striking red and black outfit, the Malaysian player was a picture of concentration and determination as she took to the court. She stamped her authority on the game early on and raced into a 3–0 lead. She made good use of the court to stretch that advantage to 5–0. Try as she might, Chiu had no answer to Davis's incessant pressure and the opening game ended with a 9–0 whitewash in just six minutes.

David began the second game in similar fashion, winning the first point by varying her pace. Chiu finally broke the ice with a powerful shot to the right-hand corner of the court. But David was soon on top again and, after a series of long rallies, she stretched her lead to 4–1, before wrapping up the second game, 9–3.

In the third, the world No 1raced into a 3–0 lead. Chiu managed to win a few points after an impressive array of shots and evened the score at 3-3. But David returned with a series of clinical executions to confirm her status as the Asian Games' top player and seal the match with a 9–3 score in the final game. Her gold was the 200th for Malaysia in Asian Games history.

After the game, David was keen to play down any talk of revenge, she said, “There is no thought of revenge. It is more about wanting to win that medal. She is a hard player to play and I had to keep her out of her comfort zone.

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 2006 Asian Games

Three boxers represented Malaysia and competed for 11 gold medals at stake in this edition of the Asiad. The country garnered three bronze medals in boxing ^[2] at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. The Busan 2002 Asian Games powerhouse countries include: Uzbekistan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Thailand.

Entry list

• Light Flyweight (48 kg) MOHAMAD Zamzai Azizi
• Featherweight (57 kg) KALAI Eddey
• Lightweight (60 kg) PAULUS Paunandes

Venue: ASPIRE Hall 5

Preliminary bouts December 3, 2006
Weight division	Corner-Name(NOC)	Winner	Points	Time/Decision
Featherweight	BLUE KALAI Eddey (MAS) RED SULTONOV Bahodirjon (UZB)	RED	4:14	RSCOS-R2
December 4, 2006
Light Flyweight	BLUE MOHAMAD Zamzai Azizi (MAS) RED CASTRO Godfrey (PHI)	RED	6:26	RSCOS-R3
Lightweight	RED PAULUS Paunandes (MAS) BLUE HU Qing(CHN)	BLUE	10:29	PTS

Legend:
PTS - Points, RSC - Referee Stop Contest, RSCOS - Referee Stop Contest Outscored, R - Round

Hockey

Main article: Hockey at the 2006 Asian Games

The Malaysian men team shared the same group with Pakistan, Japan, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.

Badminton

Main article: Badminton at the 2006 Asian Games

Malaysia's biggest hope, the second seed ranking in the world, Lee Chong Wei is looking forward for at least a gold. However, after losing to the third seed from Korea, Lee Hyun-il by 21-19, 21-19, the Malaysian badminton team 2 men's double were beaten by the Korean team. Malaysia won the bronze medal in the men's team, after losing to South Korea by 3-1.

In the individual section, Lee Chong Wei faced Taufik Hidayat in the semifinals and losing to 21-16, 21-18. Again, he got a bronze medal only. However, Malaysia unseeded men's doubles pair of Koo Kien Kiat and Tan Boon Heong went all the way. After the world no. 1 Chinese pair in the quarterfinal and World Champion Indonesian doubles Kido Markis and Setiawan Hendra, they again beat another Indonesian team in the final, winning a victory gold medal for Malaysia in the men's double. This was Malaysia's 1st gold medal in badminton for 36 years. Malaysia was even unable to get into the final in Asian games, after losing to Indonesia 12 years ago.

Besides the men's singles and doubles, Malaysia also attained 2 bronze in the men's team event and also the mixed double.

Event	Medal	Name
Men's Singles		LEE Chong Wei
Men's Doubles		TAN Boon Heong,KOO Kien Keat
Men's Team		KUAN Beng Hong LEE Chong Wei WONG Choong Hann LIN Woon Fui M TAZARI Mohd Fairuzizuan KOO Kien Keat HASHIM Muhammad Hafiz TAN Boon Heong
Mixed Doubles		M TAZARI Mohd Fairuzizuan,WONG Pei Tty

Body Building

Main article: Bodybuilding at the 2006 Asian Games

MBBF is banking on Sazali Samad, who recently won the gold in the bantamweight category of Mr. Universe held in the Czech Republic in October. Sazali recently did a training stint with coach Milos Sarcev in California recently, which proved good as he picked up the Mr. Universe title soon after.

However, in the 65 kg bodybuilding final, he was unable to catch another gold for Malaysia, but only get a silver medal.

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2006 Asian Games

Roslinda Samsu won a silver in women's Pole Vault while Noraseela Mohd Khalid get a bronze in women's 400m Hurdles.

Cue Sports

Main article: Cue Sports at the 2006 Asian Games

Esther Kwan Suet Yee get a silver in women 9 ball pool-singles.

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 2006 Asian Games

A bronze each from dressage - individual and Eventing - Individual, while a silver from dressage - Team.

Gymnastics Artistic

Main article: Gymnastics at the 2006 Asian Games

Ng Shu Wai had won a silver in men's vault.

Wushu

Main article: Wushu at the 2006 Asian Games

In women's Taijiquan - two events combined, Malaysian girls bagged both gold and bronze.

Chai Fong Ying of Malaysia has won the first wushu medal of Doha 2006 by securing the women’s taijiquan two events combined crown. This is also the sixth gold of Malaysia in this game.

The World No1 was a convincing winner, coming out on top in both the taijiquan (shadow boxing) and taijijian (taiji sword) disciplines to win with a score of 19.38.

Sepaktakraw

Main article: Sepaktakraw at the 2006 Asian Games

In men's regu and men's team, Malaysian team had successfully go into final and both lose to Thailand team, winning 2 silver for Malaysia. However in the men's double, Malaysia was defeated by Myanmar and only manage to get a bronze.

References

1. ^ 15th Asian Games. Athletes and Teams
2. ^ 2005 SEA Games Boxing results

External links

• Malaysia's medal table
• Malaysia's representative team of Doha Asian Games