HANGZHOU, Sept 22 — The Malaysian contingent was greeted by a special team welcome ceremony at the Athletes Village today, ahead of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, which is scheduled to officially open its curtain tomorrow.
During the ceremony, the Malaysian contingent was headed by chef-de-mission Datuk Chong Kim Fatt together with his two deputies Datuk Mohamad Iruan Zulkefli and Associate Prof Farrah Hani Imran, alongside the e-sports team and members of the secretariat from the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
The drizzling rain did not prevent all eyes from staying focused on the event, which featured Chinese cultural performances including a lion dance, drum, wushu, and Hangzhou's traditional dance.
It was followed by a welcoming speech by the Mayor of Hangzhou Asian Games Village Lu Chunqiang.
The national anthem Negaraku was played, and the Jalur Gemilang raised at the ceremony.
Also joining the Malaysian contingent at the ceremony were Macau, Saudi Arabia, Timor Leste, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.
“I would like to thank the organisers for the reception. The cloudy and rainy weather today has not dampened our spirit to be ready to compete.
“The ceremony really depicts the essence of the official Games slogan Heart to Heart, @Future,” Chong said to the press after the event.
Meanwhile, the national coach of the e-sports League of Legends (LOL) squad Eric Sze Pin Sia said: “I am very happy to see so many countries united together here, and I am actually very excited about how they (host) managed everything for the Asian Games,”.
The 19th Asian Games is set to host about 12,000 athletes from 45 countries competing in 481 events from 40 sports.
Malaysia, represented by 289 athletes and who will compete in 22 sports, is aiming to bring home a total of 27 medals.
— Bernama
