What a moment to be cherished!
Our national karate star, R. Sharmendran, has been chosen to be the flag bearer at the opening ceremony at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on May 5 for the upcoming 32nd Cambodia SEA Games that will be happening from May 5 to 17.
Tan Sri Norza Zakaria, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president, emphasized that he was selected because he is one of the gold medal prospects in the Games. Also, he has experience collecting gold medals in previous editions of the games.
Now, after R. Puvaneswaran in Hanoi at the 22nd edition in 2003, he is the second karate athlete to have the honour to carry the Jalur Gemilang flag at the SEA Games.
The 31-year-old karateka is all set to bag his fourth consecutive SEA Games gold medal in the men’s 75kg kumite category in this upcoming tournament. Previously, this lad had successfully clinched the big win in Kuala Lumpur 2017, Philippines 2019, and Vietnam 2021.
Yesterday, Sharmendran posted a beautifully captured moment on his official Instagram page.
During the flag handover ceremony which was officiated by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, Sharmendran’s mother was seen walking with the Malaysian flag to hand it over to OCM President Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria before the Chef de Mission passed it to him.
“Watching this over & over again makes me emotional,”
“It is a great honour to be Sea Games Flag Bearer for Malaysia” – R. Sharmendran
Our national contingent will be departing soon for Phnom Penh. With this, chef de mission Datuk Mohd Nasir Ali advised the national athletes to take precautions and stay healthy amid the hot weather and haze.
Here’s wishing our Malaysian contingent all the very best in the upcoming Sea Games! Malaysia Boleh!
Source: [1]
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