THE time has come yet again for Malaysians to don their favourite “black-and-yellow” jerseys and show their unwavering support for our nation.

That’s because our national athletes will compete against some of the best sportsmen from all over the region at the upcoming 26th SEA Games.

Over 800 of our national athletes and officers will represent the country at the biennial sports event which will be held from Nov 11 to 22 in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
There is no denying that we have some of the best young sportsmen in the world. Take, for example Datuk Nicol David who just won the World Open Crown in squash for a record-breaking sixth time!

Although Nicol is not competing at the SEA Games, we have other competent athletes who are set to make a name for themselves at the prestigious event.
One of the athletes to look out for is 20-year-old fencing exponent Yaminah Yasmin, who will be participating in her first SEA Games as part of the women’s epee and foil teams.

“I’m really excited to be heading for the SEA Games as this will be my first time representing Malaysia at this level,” said Yaminah, in a recent interview with The Star.

Fighting for gold with Yaminah at the event are 19 fencers including six female fencers; Ayse Nur Hikmet, Laura Simon, Nadzirah Mohd Adzeman, Evy James, Natasha Ezzra Abu Bakar and Filzah Syabila Jamaluddin.

Back-up shuttlers Lim Khim Wah-Goh V Shem and Ong Soon Hock-Mak Hee Chun have a good shot at a podium finish in badminton, but only if they overcome the favourite, three-time SEA Games champions Markis Kido-Hen­dra Setiawan of Indonesia.
The girls from the shooting team are determined to win a few medals in their event.

This would be the third SEA Games for Shahera Rahim Raja who together with Nur Suryani Taibi is aiming to beat the shooters from Singapore and Thailand.
“My third SEA Games will demand the best out of me. I have won medals before but they were from team events. This time, there are only individual events and the quality of shooters will be high,” she said in a recent interview.

Also looking forward to raking in the gold medals at SEA Games 2011 are the athletes from the cycling and karate events.
National Karate coach P. Arivalagan said that his team, which comprises 21 karate exponents, could bring in at least six gold medals from the upcoming games.

Not letting the pressure of winning a medal get to her is national elite bowler Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore. The 19-year-old Sarawakian created a stir in the international bowling scene when she won the singles gold medal at the Women’s World Championship in Hong Kong last month.

This time however, Jacqueline wants to focus on helping Malaysia to win a Gold medal in the team category.

“This is my first SEA Games and I do not want to set my targets too high. A podium finish in all the events would be nice,” she was quoted as saying.
Here are just some of the junior athletes who will be competing at the upcoming SEA Games 2011. Good luck to all of them!
Shooting

Johnathan Wong Guanjie, 19

Muhammad Ezuan Nasir Khan, 22

Mohd Shahril Sahak, 20

 

Karate (kata)

Lim Chee Wei, 20

Thor Chee Yee, 19

Khaw Yee Voon, 16

Celine Lee Xin Yi, 17

 

Sailing

Koe Sin Yee, 16

Geh Cheow Lin, 16

Mohamad Daniel Fauzi, 15

Nur Amirah Hamid, 18

Ahmad Syukri Abdul Aziz, 15

 

Karate (kumite)

Teagarajan Kunasakaran, 20

Uriel Yu En French, 21

Devaraj Venkatesan, 18

Syakilla Salini Jefry Krishnan, 19

Shree Sharmini Segarajan, 19

 

Cycling

Mohd Fattah Amri Zaid, 19

Muhd Arfy Qhairani Amran, 18

Jupha Summet, 18

Amirul Anuar Jafri, 19

Mohd Ekbar Zaman Huri, 19

Mardiana Mohd Radzi, 18

 

Weightlifting

Azizah Fadzil, 20

Sharifah Inani Najwa Sy Anuar, 21

Elyone Matin, 21

Frenceay Titus, 20

Tey Shan Fung @ Nur Jannah Batrisyah, 21

Elisha Louis Tan, 19

Muhd Zafril Zulkifli, 23