His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council hands over the national flag to Brunei contingent’s Chef De Mission Zainab binti Haji Morshidi. PHOTO: BAHYIAH BAKIR
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BDNOC) handed over the national flag to the national contingent competing at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Cambodia.
During the handover ceremony at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex, His Royal Highness handed over the flag to Brunei contingent’s Chef De Mission Zainab binti Haji Morshidi.
National pencak silat athlete Md Ali Saifullah bin Haji Md Suhaimi will be the flag bearer for the country during the competition.
“It is an honour to carry the national flag in the opening ceremony,” said Md Ali Saifullah in an interview. “Although I am feeling a bit nervous,” he added.
The pencak silat athlete won the bronze medal in the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam for men’s single artistic event. In Cambodia, he will be competing in the single artistic competition as well as the team artistic event. “I will do my best in both events,” he said, adding that the training has not been easy.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad reminded the athletes heading to the competition to maintain discipline and etiquette and avoid any action that could cause them to be dismissed or suspended.
The minister also hoped that the athletes will be able to increase their skill and experience.
Brunei Darussalam first competed in the SEA Games in 1977. The nation’s best performance was in 1999 with a tally of four gold, 12 silver and 32 bronze medals.
At the previous showing in Vietnam in 2021, the country’s athletes collected one gold, one silver and one bronze medal from wushu and pencak silat.
For the 32nd SEA Games, the Sultnate is sending a 100-member contingent comprising 65 athletes and 35 officers. The athletes will be competing in aquatic swimming, athletics, badminton, karetedo, billards and snooker, e-sports, fencing, obstacle race, pencak silat, petanque, weightlifting and wushu.
