19th Asian Games Hanzhou 2022 – Flag Handing Ceremony

The Flag Handing Ceremony for the Malaysian Contingent to the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 was held on Monday, 11th September 2023, at the Banquet Hall, Casa 4, National Sports Council (NSC).

The Flag Handing Ceremony which was graced by Y.A.Bhg. Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of the Prime Minister, symbolized the readiness of the Malaysian Contingent to compete against the rest of the continent in the upcoming 19th Asian Games scheduled from 23rd September to 8th October 2023.

In addition to the wife of the Prime Minister, several dignitaries attended the Ceremony to show their support, including H.E. Mr. Aoyang Juying, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia, Y.B. Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Youth and Sports, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri (Dr.) Mohamad Norza Zakaria, President of OCM, Ts. Dr. Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu, Secretary General of Ministry of Youth and Sports and Dato’ Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, Director General of NSC.

In her speech, Y.B. Hannah Yeoh expressed her gratitude to all the stakeholders in sports namely the OCM, the NSC, the NSI, the NSAs and the sponsors, for their collaboration in preparing the Malaysian Contingent.

During her emotional keynote address, Y.A.Bhg. Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, passionately rallied all the athletes of the Malaysian Contingent, urging them to surpass their own limits and strive for excellence in the name of Malaysia’s honour and glory.

During the flag handing segment, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri (Dr.) Mohamad Norza Zakaria initially handed the “Jalur Gemilang” to Y.B. Hannah Yeoh, who then passed it to the Chef de Mission, Dato’ Chong Kim Fatt.

Dato’ Chong Kim Fatt subsequently passed the “Jalur Gemilang” to one of the two flagbearers of the Malaysian Contingent, Mr. Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom OLY from the Track Cycling Team.

The last segment of the Ceremony featured the Athlete’s Pledge, which was recited by the Olympic shooter, Johnathan Wong OLY.

In the press conference after the Ceremony, Dato’ Chong Kim Fatt announced that the Malaysian Contingent had set a target of winning 27 medals, potentially contributed by 13 sports namely Aquatics (Diving), Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Track Cycling, Equestrian, E-Sports, Men’s Hockey, Karate, Sailing, Sepaktakraw, Squash and Wushu.

“We have not specified a particular gold medal target to reduce pressure on the athletes. This approach is based on input from various stakeholders during post-mortem sessions conducted after previous Multi-Sport Games, as well as feedback from the Nippon Sports Science University (Nittaidai) in Japan” he explained.