KUALA LUMPUR: Syafiq Zuber triumphed on a rather quiet day for Malaysia in the Sea Games as the taekwondo exponent retained his men's 80kg event by overcoming Indonesia's Naufal Khairudin Osanando 2-1 (7-10, 10-1, 4-3) in the final at the Chroy Changvar Convention Centre in Phnom Penh today.
With the victory, Malaysia finally won their 30th gold in the Sea Games with one day left of competition, and it is highly unlikely Malaysia will hit their 40-gold target.
It is already written on the wall that Malaysia will finish below hosts Cambodia and Singapore in the medal standings this time.
Although Malaysia will contest in several finals today, only the men's and women's hockey teams are almost assured of returning with gold medals.
Malaysia will definitely go lower than the 39 gold medals won at last year's Hanoi Sea Games, which received criticism from the public.
The country's worst showing in recent times was the 31 gold, achieved at the 1995 Chiang Mai edition.
As for Syafiq, the gold was a belated Mother's Day gift for his mother, Salma Shafie.
"This medal is for my mother. She asked for a gold medal for Mother's Day, and I delivered it.
"Also special thanks to my coach, Syed Taufiq Syed Hamid, and the National Sports Institute for helping me prepare for the Games.
On retaining his title, Syafiq said: "He was just too focused on performing, not his rivals in the event.
"I still can't believe that I won. There was pressure as it is not easy to defend a title."
He added the two-month training stint in South Korea did the trick yesterday.
"I spent my Hari Raya in Korea preparing for the Sea Games. And it paid dividends."
