Gold Rush Continues as Diving, Hockey and Cycling Deliver for Malaysia

(Bangkok, 19th) Malaysia’s contingent hit another gold surge at the SEA Games, with multiple sports delivering top finishes. In diving, a new-generation pairing struck gold on the final day of competition as 16-year-old Nurul Farisha and 20-year-old Noe Alissa Raniah clinched the women’s 10m synchro platform title—bringing Malaysia its 53rd gold medal of the Games.

The Malaysian duo amassed 248.4 points over five rounds to beat Singapore’s Guan Jia En and Zhan Lei En, who finished on 237 points. Malaysia had already built a 20-point cushion after four rounds (197.7 points) and sealed the win with a composed final dive worth 50.7 points. It was also Malaysia’s first diving gold at this edition of the SEA Games. The pair had earlier captured silver at the Asian Aquatics Championships, underlining their status as rising prospects for the national programme.

Malaysia also celebrated success in hockey. After gold medals in men’s five-a-side hockey and the men’s team event, the women’s hockey team produced a dominant 6–0 victory over Indonesia in the final to secure Malaysia’s third hockey gold of the Games.

On the track, Malaysia edged hosts Thailand by just 0.18 seconds to win the men’s team sprint gold. The trio of Fadhil Zonis, Akmal and Rizuwan Shahrun clocked 1:00.520, narrowly faster than Thailand’s 1:00.700. The triumph marked Malaysia’s fourth track cycling gold at the Games and lifted the overall gold tally to 54.

Earlier, Malaysian rider Liu Niu Zu claimed silver in the men’s points race with 28 points, finishing behind Thailand’s Thuraki (38 points), while Indonesia’s Van Aert took bronze. In the men’s keirin, star rider Ridwan won gold by an ultra-slim margin of 0.027 seconds over host favourite Zai, the 2018 SEA Games champion, and dedicated the medal to his brother Shafiedaus, who missed the Games through injury. Thailand’s Norasettada took bronze, while Malaysia’s Fadheshir placed fourth.

Ridwan said his brother has been a key pillar throughout his track cycling journey, which was why he chose to dedicate the gold to him. He added that he received encouragement in a pre-race phone call and described his first SEA Games gold as especially meaningful, before turning his focus to the team sprint.