Sultan Mizan And More Malaysian Athletes Who Have Made History In The 2017 SEA Games
Some of them have even smashed multiple records!
By Samantha Khor — 22 Aug 2017, 01:36 PM
1. Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin became the first Malaysian royalty to win a medal in the SEA Games and smashed a Games record by three hours
The first sultan to compete in the SEA Games, Sultan Mizan of Terengganu bagged another first when he won gold in the equestrian endurance event for the individual category on Sunday, 20 August.
That's not all - he even set a new Games record by completing the 80km race in 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 38 seconds... which is almost three hours earlier compared to the previous record holder! The previous record - 6 hours, 26 minutes, and 4 seconds - has been held by Mohd Sulaiman Muda since the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.
2. The men's rugby team won their first ever gold medal
The national rugby sevens team finally clinched the elusive gold medal after beating Singapore 22-7 in the final on 20 August at the Petaling Jaya Municipal Stadium. The team had previously lost to the Philippines in the the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.
According to Stadium Astro, this is also the first time in seven Games that the national rugby team won a rugby variant tournament since the sport was introduced in 1967.
3. The women's rugby team also won their first ever medal
The women's rugby sevens team secured a 7-5 win over the Philippines for a bronze on 20 August, making it their first ever podium finish in the SEA Games.
4. Archer Khairul Anuar Mohamad broke three SEA Games recurve records in one day
The 25-year-old set a new personal best in the men's individual recurve event with 682 points, breaking the national and Games records which he also set in 2012.
Later on, collected 2,009 points in the men's team event with Haziq Kamaruddin and Akmal Nor Hasrin, surpassing the 2013 Games record of 1,968.
Khairul set his third and last record of the day in the mixed team event, in which he was paired with Nur Aliya Ghapar, with 1,314 points.
All three records were set on Sunday, 20 August during the qualifying rounds for the archery recurve events.
5. Archer Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh set a new SEA Games record and even broke a national record she set herself in 2012
Stadium Astro reported that Fatin Nurfatehah recorded 696 points at the women's individual compound qualification event on Wednesday, 16 August, surpassing the previous SEA Games record (686) set by Myanmar's Aung Ngeian in 2013.
Not only that, she also broke her own national double 50m record of 695, which was set at the 2012 Asian Grand Prix.
6. The netball team ended a 16-year wait for gold after beating defending champions Singapore
The national netball team clinched a historic win over arch rival Singapore in the final on 21 August, beating the defending champions 65-41.
This is Malaysia's second netball gold, having last won in 2001 when the sport was introduced to the SEA Games for the first time. Malaysia had previously lost out on the gold medal in the 2015 SEA Games after a narrow defeat to Singapore.
Check out the winning moment here:
7. The women's recurve archery team won their first gold medal in 12 years
Nur Aliya Ghapar, Nuramalia Haneesha Mazlan, and Nur Afisa Abdul Halil beat defending champions Indonesia 5-1 in the final on Monday, 21 August to end Malaysia's 12-year drought in the archery competition.
Malaysia's women's recurve team only won gold once in the SEA Games, during the 2005 SEA Games in Manila.
8. Swimmer Welson Sim won Malaysia's first swimming gold and broke a SEA Games record he set himself in 2015
Not only did Welson Sim Wee Sheng manage to defend his gold medal in the 400m Freestyle event yesterday, 21 August, he even smashed his own 2015 record by clocking in at 3:50:26. His previous record was 3:53.97.
We're super proud of what Team Malaysia has achieved so far. Great job, Team Malaysia! #KitaJuara
The 2017 SEA Games is still ongoing. This list will be updated as results of the events are announced.