The 13th Malaysia Games
(Sukma) came to a close in
Melaka yesterday after 10
days of competition among
the region's best athletes.
Picture: Bernama

The Brunei contingent will be arriving at the Sultanate with their heads held high today as the Malaysia Games (Sukma) 13 came to a close in Melaka yesterday.

Competing in 13 sports, Brunei were able to haul in one gold and seven bronze from the 10-day tournament, improving on their previous performance in 2008 when they managed to only bag two silver medals.

The biggest achievement came from Md Yazid Yatimi Yusof, who won the men's discus throw event on Wednesday to deliver the Sultanate's only gold.

It was the 23-year-old's best throw of 42.87m in his fourth attempt at the Utama Stadium, Hang Jebat Complex that claimed him the gold.

On Tuesday, he claimed the Sultanate's sixth medal after finishing third in the men's shot put.

The final medal came from Muhammad Rafiuddin Zakaria, who won bronze in the 36km cross country race on Friday.

He was not the sole cyclist who pedalled to a medal though, Muhammad Raihaan Abd Aziz, Abdul Hadrie Morsidi and Md Azbe Hidayatullah Zainul Ariffin also grabbed bronze in the 168.5km team road race on Monday.

The national karatedo team, which won the Sultanate's silver medals in 2008, were also able to impress through Mohd Nabil Abd Malik and Ampuan Nur Haziqah Hasyimah Ampuan. The duo clinched Brunei's first and second bronze medal in the men's below 75kg kumite and the women's below 68kg kumite event respectively.

Md Azril Mohd Ali and Nurul Amal Maziah Ibrahim Noor secured two more bronze medals on Monday in the pencak silat Class A (45-50kg) categories.

However the athletes that stood out the most in the closing ceremony last night were swimmer Chan Kah Yan and runner J. Karthik.

Wilayah Persekutuan's Kah Yan won seven gold medals to emerge as the top woman athlete while Melaka's Karthik won three gold medals to claim the honour of best sportsman.

Terengganu was crowned the overall champions with the tally of 47 gold, 30 silver and 43 bronzes while hosts Melaka finished seventh with 32 gold, 31 silver and 28 bronze medals.

Courtesy from Brunei Times