MANILA, Aug. 9 — Three reigning world champions have been chosen as flag bearers of the 700-member Malaysian delegation in the opening ceremony of the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on August 19.
According to a report from the official website of the 2017 SEA Games on Tuesday, track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, pencak silat exponent Al-Jufferi Jamari, and diver Cheong Jun Hoong were named by Youth and Sports Minister and Malaysia Organizing Committee (MASOC) Chairman YB Brig. Gen. Khairy Jamaluddin during his meeting with the athletes at the Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the official hotel of the Malaysian contingent, on August 7.
Azizulhasni, who won the bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, bagged the world keirin title in April this year. Al-Jufferi ruled the men’s Putra E category in the 2016 World Silat Championships in Bali, Indonesia while Cheong captured the gold medal at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary last month.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic shooter Jasmine Ser will serve as flag bearer of the 569-strong Singapore contingent in the SEA Games which will held from August 19 to 30.
The 26-year-old Ser debuted in the 2012 London Games as a wild card, competing in the 10-meter air rifle event. She qualified in the same event and in the 50-meter rifle three positions event in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Ser has competed at the Commonwealth Games, winning three golds, aside from pocketing the silver at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
She joined the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup this year, bagging the silver in the 50-meter three positions event in the New Delhi (India) leg in February and the bronze medal in the 10-meter air rifle event in the Azerbaijan leg in June. She now has three World Cup medals, including the bronze in the 10-meter air rifle event in the Bangkok (Thailand) leg last year.
The Philippines, on the other hand, has named Olympian Kirstie Elaine Alora of taekwondo as flag bearer as early as June.
The 27-year-old Alora won the silver medal in the 67kg category in the Asian Taekwondo Qualifying Tournament to earn a slot at the 2016 Rio Summer Games. She was a bronze winner in at the 2010 (Guangzhou) and 2014 (Incheon) Asian Games. (PNA)
