~* mY rEmiNiScEncES *~

Unlike most of the Asian Games participating countries, Malaysia has no specific national sport. As a matter of fact, sports in Malaysia are a mixture of traditional and Western games due to its diversity of cultures. Badminton, football, hockey, rugby, and sepak takraw are some of the unofficial sports commonly played in this country. Although there is no national sport clearly, they are serious contenders for numerous sports that will take place at the 2014 Asian Games.

Crew Report on Top Medal Contenders at Incheon Asian Games

An all-time badminton ace from Georgetown, Penang, Lee earned his world number one title upon his triumph at the Commonwealth Games 2006 in Melbourne, Australia and Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi, India. With an astounding record of over 199 consecutive weeks of winning since 21 August 2008, he reached the top of the rankings, and defeated badminton heavyweight Lin Dan.

Lee may even be Malaysia’s most prominent Olympian. He has claimed a multitude of gold medal finishes in many championship matches all over Asia. The 31 year old Lee has hinted that he might put an end to his career after the Asian Games this year, but fans can only find out his final decision, after the results of this important competition. With this rumor spreading quickly, he is one of the most anticipated players to compete in badminton this year.

As the first Asian woman to accomplish world No. 1 ranking in women’s squash for over seven years now, Nicol Ann David is also a Malaysian native born in Penang. She began playing squash at the age of 5, when squash wasn’t very popular in country. However, she was lucky enough to engage in the sport when the country’s national council started to provide funding to different sports, one of the sports included was squash and it got popular after it became a core sport in the Commonwealth Games in 1998.

David began to climb in the international rankings during her teen years. She was bestowed the Datuk title, the youngest Datukship recipient in Penang for her significant contributions and achievements received. Recently, the Queen of Squash just took the gold medal in the Cleveland Classic in 2014, and the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions in 2014. Incredibly, the recent victory marks her 73rd Women’s Squash Association (WSA) Tour title from her 92nd career final. Some of her remarkable achievements include winnings in the British Open title in 2005, ’06, ’08, and ’12. The list doesn’t end there, with more winnings in the World Open title a total of seven consecutive wins. She is one to be on the lookout this year many are assuming she is more prepared than ever.

Malaysia’s latest rising star is Pandela Rinong, already an Olympic star. She was pinned the Gold Medal for Olympic diving, and was recognized as the first ever medalist from Malaysia to receive a medal in a sport other than badminton. She is also the recipient of the gold in the Southeast Asian Games in 2007, 2009, and even 2011. She also proved her dominance in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As a K-pop fanatic, Pandela is eagerly awaiting to visit the country of South Korea not only for their pop music, but to reclaim the gold.

Malaysia is quickly on the rise to being recognized as a nation that is home to many world class athletes. They are a gold medalist from an array of different sports, and have produced champions that are both male and female. Tune into the 2014 Asian Games in Korea to witness history in the making!

The official 2014 Incheon Asian Games Writer ‘IAG-Crew’ ㅣKit Yee Thoong