From Mazani Mohd Yusoff
NEW CLARK CITY, (PHILIPPINES) Nov 30 -- With only a bronze to show from their debut in SEA Games dance sport in 2007, Malaysia are looking for a golden breakthrough at the 30th SEA Games here.
Coach Chua Zjen Fong is confident that one gold and two bronze are within the reach of the national team as they have shown good form in recent competitions.
He said Lego Sam Jee Lek, who will be competing in the breaking event, is Malaysia’s best bet for gold as he has done well in several international tournaments this year.
"If Sam wins gold, he will create history for Malaysia in dance sport,” said Chua, a former dance athlete.
"Besides Sam, we are also putting our medal hopes on Elvin Teo Chee Seng and Kimberly Tan Cheer Ching, and also Jarell Cheong Tze Wen and Koh Jinnee in the standard couple discipline as well as Tan Yee Chun and Tan Chee Min in the latin discipline," he told Bernama at Royce Hotel and Casino, near here, today.
Malaysia have entered nine athletes for the three disciplines in the 30th SEA Games dance sport -- latin, standard couple and breaking events.
Malaysia did not participate in dance sport when it was introduced at the 2005 Games in the Philippines and won a bronze through Yong Kwok Leong and Gooi Yee Zhen in the Latin American (Rumba) discipline at the 2007 SEA Games in Korat, Thailand. Dance sport had not been featured in the games since Korat.
Sam shares Chua’s sentiments and hopes to be Malaysia’s first gold medallist in the sport.
"This is the first time the breaking discipline is contested at the SEA Games, and I hope to get good results and perform my signature move in tomorrow's competition.
"I have taken part in a few international competitions, so I believe I got enough experience to handle the pressure tomorrow," according to Sam.
Elvin Teo and Kimberly Tan are also upbeat about their medal chances.
"We won silver at the WDSF SEA Championship 2019 in August and I hope it would give a major boost to our performance here," Teo said.
A total of 13 golds are up for grabs in the one-day dance sport competition, which will be held at the Royce Hotel and Casino.
-- BERNAMA
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