Culture, Youth and Sports
minister Pehin Orang Kaya
Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri
Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah
congratulating the Brunei
contingent upon their arrival at
the Brunei International
Airport yesterday afternoon.
Picture: BT/Yee Chun Leong
A banner reading "Tahniah" (congratulations) greeted the Brunei Contingent yesterday as they walked through the sliding doors of the arrival hall at the Brunei International Airport from the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia.
Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) was present to welcome the athletes back home, presenting each of them with congratulatory sashes.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, Pehin Dato Hj Hazair said: "Despite not winning any gold, I think they've done very well. They won four silver medals!
That means that they had four chances of going to the finals to win the gold but unfortunately they couldn't make it."
The Minister of MCYS and Hj Mohd Rosmadee Hj Mohd Daud, the Assistant Chef de Mission, shared similar comments. They expressed belief that the athletes have done their best in the SEA Games and that they should be very proud of their performances in Indonesia.
Brunei ended their campaign with four silver medals one in wushu, two in shorinji kempo and one in karate.
The seven bronze medals were from the karatedo team, who won two, three from pencak silat, and one from wushu and taekwondo each leaving them at the bottom of the table.
To not win gold certainly does stir up dissatisfaction amongst the Brunei representatives but the SEA Games does more than just hold grounds for competition it provides an opportunity for valuable exposure for the national athletes.
Wrapping up Brunei's campaign for the 26th SEA Games, Pehin Dato Hj Hazair said that there is much room for improvement for the athletes in future events.
The 27th edition of the biennial Games will be hosted by Myanmar at its capital Naypyidaw in 2013.
Courtesy from Brunei Times
