13/12/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | DEC 13, 2025

31

Artistic gymnastics double delight

MALAY S IA’ S artistic gymnastic camp ended their SEA Games Thailand 2025 campaign with a dazzling double, scooping two gold medals on the final day in Pathum Thani. At Gymnasium 5, Thammasat University Campus, Muhammad Sharul Aimy Kamaru Hisam produced a classy vault routine to strike gold with 13.833 points, marking a memorable end to his SEA Games 2025 outing after earning bronze in men’s pommel horse. The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games bronze medallist edged John Ivan Cruz from the Philippines by the slimmest of margins – just 0.016 points – as the opponent settled for silver with 13.817 points. Thailand’s Tikumporn Surintornta claimed the bronze with 13.717 points.

SEA GAMES

Young swimmer Tong Yu Jing made history on his SEA Games debut by breaking the national record en route to winning bronze in the 50m freestyle with a time of 22.48 seconds, erasing the previous mark of 22.91s set by Bryan Leong in the United Kingdom last May. In the 4x200m freestyle relay, the national quartet of Khiew Hoe Yean, Terence Ng, Ananda Lim and Arvin Shaun Singh finished second with a time of 7:19.50s. The time beat the previous record of 7:19.66s set by Hoe Yean, Arvin Shaun, Lim Yin Chuen and Tan Khai Xin at the 2025 World University Games in Berlin last July. – Bernama

Luqman Al-Hafiz Zulfa finished fifth in men’s horizontal bars with 11.700 points and Ng Chun Chen earned fifth spot with 11.233 points while Cadence Teh came in fourth in women’s floor exercise (11.933 points). In total, the Malaysian gymnastic artistic camp finished their campaign with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals from Thailand. On Thursday, at the Sports Authority of Thailand swimming complex, two national records were broken in the men’s 50m freestyle and the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.

In the meantime, debutant Yeap Kang Xian danced her way to impress the judges on the balance beam to score 13.233 points to win gold, her second medal following a bronze in the women’s vault, yesterday. The 17-year-old outshined Singapore’s Amanda Yap (12.733 points), while Aleah Finnegan from the Philippines took home the bronze with (12.467 points). Yesterday, Rachel Yeoh Li Wen set the pace for the national camp by defending her uneven bars crown, giving Malaysia their first artistic gymnastics gold at the biennial Games.

MEDAL TALLY G S B

COUNTRY

1. Thailand 2. Vietnam 3. Indonesia 4. Singapore 5. Philippines 6. Malaysia 7. Myanmar

53 18 15 10

31 12 22 12 11 12

19 103

35 18 15 28 28

65 55 37 46 45 16 11

Grace hammers record Wong’s sacrifice pays off in style

7 5 2 1 0 0

8 1 1 0

6 9 3 2

8. Laos

9. Brunei

4 2

10. Timor-Leste

RESULTS & STANDINGS

EU R OPA LEAGUE Stuttgart 4 Maccabi Tel Aviv 1, Nice 0 Braga 1, Dinamo Zagreb 1 Real Betis 3, Ferencvaros 2 Rangers 1, Utrecht 1 Nottingham Forest 2, Midtjylland 1 Genk 0, Young Boys 1 Lille 0, Sturm Graz 0 Red Star Belgrade 1, Ludo gorets 3 PAOK 3, Porto 2 Malmo 1, Celtic 0 Roma 3, Brann 0 Fenerbahce 4, Basel 1 Aston Villa 2, Lyon 2 Go Ahead Eagles 1, Freiburg 1 Red Bull Salzburg 0, Celta Vigo 1 Bologna 2, Panathi naikos 0 Viktoria Plzen 0, FCSB 4 Feye noord 3. Top 16 P W D L F A Pts Lyon 6 5 0 1 13 3 15 Midtjylland 6 5 0 1 13 5 15 Aston Villa 6 5 0 1 10 4 15 Real Betis 6 4 2 0 11 4 14 Freiburg 6 4 2 0 9 3 14 Ferencvaros 6 4 2 0 11 6 14 Braga 6 4 1 1 10 5 13 Porto 6 4 1 1 9 5 13 Stuttgart 6 4 0 2 12 5 12 Roma 6 4 0 2 10 5 12 Forest 6 3 2 1 11 6 11 Fenerbahce 6 3 2 1 9 5 11 Bologna 6 3 2 1 9 5 11 Viktoria Plzen 6 2 4 0 6 2 10 Panathinaikos 6 3 1 2 9 7 10 Genk 6 3 1 2 7 6 10 CO N FE R E N CE LEAGUE Breidablik 3 Shamrock Rovers 1, Fior entina 2 Dynamo Kyiv 1, Jagiellonia 1 Rayo Vallecano 2, Drita 0 AZ Alkmaar 3, Samsunspor 1 AEK Athens 2, Shken dija 2 Slovan Bratislava 0, Hacken 1 AEK Larnaca 1, Universitatea Craiova 1 Sparta Prague 2, Noah 2 Legia Warsaw 1, Rapid Vienna 0 Omonia 1, Lech Poznan 1 Mainz 1, Riejka 3 Celje 0, Lincoln Red Imps 2 Sigma Olomouc 1, KuPS 0 Lausanne-Sport 0, Aberdeen 0 Strasbourg 1, Rakow 1 Zrinjski 0, Hamrun Spartans 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 2, Shelbourne 0 Crystal Palace 3. Top 16 P W D L F A Pts Strasbourg 5 4 1 0 8 4 13 Shakhtar 5 4 0 1 10 5 12 Czestochowa 5 3 2 0 8 2 11 AEK Athens 5 3 1 1 11 5 10 Samsunspor 5 3 1 1 10 4 10 Sparta Prague 5 3 1 1 7 3 10 Rayo Vallecano 5 3 1 1 10 7 10 Mainz 5 3 1 1 5 3 10 Crystal Palace 5 3 0 2 9 4 9 AEK Larnaca 5 2 3 0 6 1 9 Fiorentina 5 3 0 2 8 4 9 Celje 5 3 0 2 8 7 9 AZ Alkmaar 5 3 0 2 7 7 9 Rijeka 5 2 2 1 5 2 8 Omonia 5 2 2 1 5 3 8 Lausanne 5 2 2 1 5 3 8

National women’s hammer thrower Grace Wong Xiu Mei won gold and set a Games record at the SEA Games at Suphachalasai Stadium in Bangkok yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

T HE tough decision made by Malaysia’s hammer throw champion, Grace Wong Xiu Mei, a few months ago has proven to be well worth it after she clinched the gold medal yesterday at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, held at the Suphachalasai Stadium in Bangkok. Grace, who not only won the gold but also shattered the SEA Games record four times, reflected on one of the most challenging moments in her career – choosing between focusing on her studies or committing to intensive training in China. As a Universiti Malaya student, pursuing a degree in Sports Science, Grace was torn between two important paths. However, with strong support from her university, she made the decision to fully dedicate herself to athletics.

own SEA Games record of 61.87m set at the 2023 Games in Cambodia. In her second throw, she set another record with 63.83m, breaking the national record of 63.53m that she had set at the Malaysia Athletics Championship in Kangar, Perlis, last August. Her third attempt produced another record breaking throw of 65.09m before she clinched victory with a final throw of 65.41m, setting new marks for both the SEA Games and national records. Meanwhile, Thailand settled for silver and bronze through Koomphon Mingkamon

“I’ll never forget that time. It was my third semester when the National Sports Council (MSN) announced the budget for training in China, and I had to choose between the two. I wanted to study, but I also dreamed of winning a gold medal. “If I chose sports, I would have to delay my studies, and I was already 25 years old. I felt like I had invested so much in sports, so I believed that focusing on it would be the right choice. In the end, it was definitely worth it,” Grace told Bernama in Bangkok. Grace’s outstanding performance yesterday saw her winning the gold medal and breaking the SEA Games record four consecutive times, cementing her dominance in the event. The 25-year-old athlete from Sarawak started strong with a throw of 63.34m, surpassing her

(60.74m) and Kaewasuksri Sawitree (56.27m). This victory marks Grace’s fourth hammer gold medal in the SEA Games, following her previous triumphs in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, 2021 in Vietnam, and 2023 in Cambodia. Harimau Muda not aggressive against Vietnam: Mohd Nafuzi

THE Harimau Muda squad did not play aggressively and failed to match the strength of Vietnam after losing 0-2 in the final Group B match of the men’s football compe tition at the 2025 Thailand SEA Games at Rajamangala National Stadium on Thursday night. Mohd Nafuzi said the disap pointing defeat was due to the play ers giving too much space to the opponent, especially in the first half which saw Vietnam score two goals. “We are very disappointed because we only wanted to draw to

through our own efforts but maybe not luck, (Malaysia’s) chances are not 100% closed but have to depend on other teams,“ said Nafuzi. For the record, Malaysia was eliminated at the group stage in the 2023 edition in Cambodia and lost in the bronze medal match in the 2021 edition in Hanoi. The last time the national squad stood on the podium was when they won the silver medal in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur. – Bernama

22nd minute. The defeat saw Malaysia finish the group stage in second place with three points. While Vietnam emerged as group champions with six points to confirm an automatic slot to the semifinals. Malaysia, who are now hoping to qualify for the semifinals through the best runner-up slot, will have to wait for the result of the final match of Group C between Indonesia and Myanmar. “For me, we need to qualify

reach the semifinals but in the last group match we were not too aggressive and gave the opponent a lot of space and conceded two easy goals. “In the second half, tactical changes were made and there was an improvement but it still did not give the result (goals) we wanted,“ he said at a press conference after the match. Vietnam opened the scoring in the 11th minute through a header by Nguyen Hieu Minh before Pham Minh Phuc doubled the lead in the