Jubilant M’sia dismiss judging concerns

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia dismissed concerns over judging at the Southeast Asian Games as the hosts finished the competition with a record 145 gold medals on Wednesday, more than twice the number of second-placed Thailand.

The home team won five of the seven gold medals on the final day, a typically dominant performance as they ended the Games with more than one-third of the 406 titles handed out.

Malaysia, who won 62 gold medals at the last SEA Games in 2015, topped the table for the first time since 2001 -- when they also hosted the mini-Olympics. Thailand had 72 golds and Vietnam 58.

Thai and Indonesian officials have hit out at the judging standards, and there have been a welter of complaints and videos online, many under the #ShameOnYouMalaysia hashtag.

But Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, director-general of Malaysia’s National Sports Council, said none of the 10 visiting teams had registered an official complaint.

“We have a technical delegate appointed by the international (SEA Games) federation,” he told reporters.

“We have procedures on whatever protests or dissatisfaction (there is) from the teams and until now if I’m not mistaken we haven’t received any official complaints.”

He added: “The bottom line is, there are rules, there are procedures. There is a technical delegate appointed by the international sports federation, and we have to trust those people to deliver the competition properly.”

Malaysia have never won an Olympic gold medal, although they had four silvers and a bronze at last year’s Rio Games. They won five golds at the 2014 Asian Games and six at the last Commonwealth Games.