Battle-hardened Sharmendran has had multiple injuries throughout his career, yet he persevered through agony and tears to become Malaysia’s most successful karateka, winning his fourth consecutive Sea Games gold medal in the men’s Kumite below-75kg event in Phnom Penh. He broke national coach R. Puvaneswaran’s record of three straight titles from 2005 to 2009.
Cheong Min emerged as the only Malaysian to win two individual gold in Phnom Penh in the women’s nanquan and nandao-nangun combined events in her first Games. Her events were not contested in the previous two editions.
Jing Xuen created history by becoming the first Malaysian to emerge as the first women’s individual winner in golf at the Sea Games. The 15-year-old calmly converted her par-putt to end the nation’s 30-year gold medal wait, upstaging favourite Eila Galitsky of Thailand.
Chuan Leong lost his confidence after an unsuccessful stint in the World Snooker Tour, but the 35-year-old rose to the occasion to win the snooker singles gold medal. It was his second singles title after the 2015 Singapore edition.
Iman switched from taekwondo to kickboxing, and it was his best-ever decision. He became the first Malaysian kickboxing champion in the Sea Games after winning the men’s kick-light Under-69kg event. He won silver and bronze at the 2019 Manila and 2022 Hanoi editions in taekwondo
The 17-year-old windsurfing athlete showed maturity to win the RS:X gold. The 17-year-old, however, will not have a go in the Olympic qualifying as his event will not be contested in Paris next year.
The 22-year-old now aims to win the world title in Jakarta following her impressive showing in Phnom Penh. The Sabahan silat exponent won the women’s Under-45.
It was memorable for the 18-year-old in Phnom Penh when the diver won the men’s 10m platform event to help Malaysia achieve a clean sweep of four gold medals.
The 19-year-old showed consistency by winning his second bronze medal in the Under 73kg class, proving that Malaysia are progressing the judo.
However, Amir could have done better if he had a better draw. He lost to Cambodia’s Shintaro Uno, a naturalised athlete from Japan, who won the 2018 veterans world judo championships, in an earlier bout.
