Southeast Asia shines at Paris 2024, surpassing Tokyo 2020 results

Their total of 16 medals was also second only to the 5-10-3 tally from Rio 2016, an improvement from the 3-4-6 haul from Tokyo 2020.

THE PHILIPPINES (2 golds, 2 bronzes)

Proving that size does not matter, the Philippines’ best Olympic outing was fuelled by pocket dynamos below 1.6m.

Carlos Yulo single-handedly kept the Filipinos at the top of the Southeast Asian pile as the 1.5m gymnast created history with his double triumph in the men’s vault and floor exercise, as 1.58m boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio claimed bronze. Also standing at 1.5m is weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who became the nation’s first Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020.

While boxing has long been a popular sport in the Philippines, there has been an upward trend in its gymnastics results since the 2011 SEA Games.

Then came generational talent Yulo, who overcame a family feud and a break-up with Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya to deliver in Paris.

The Philippines has also stated its intention to increase its depth in the sport by recruiting foreign-born talents such as Emma Malabuyo, Aleah Finnegan and Levi Jung-Ruivivar, who used to represent the United States but made their Olympic debut in France as Filipinas.

Finnegan said: “All three of us plan on going back to the Philippines after Paris, and just being able to visit with the other athletes and help them in any way that we can for their gymnastics.”

INDONESIA (2 golds, 1 bronze)

Paris 2024 marked the first time that Indonesia clinched Olympic gold outside badminton. After stars like Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting were surprisingly eliminated in the group stage, climber Veddriq Leonardo won the men’s speed gold in 4.75sec.

Weightlifter Rizki Juniansyah added another gold, while Gregoria Tunjung kept up her country’s rich badminton history with a women’s singles bronze.

But it is the climbing gold – the sport made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 – that may provide a blueprint for the region’s athletes, who may struggle more with certain traditional sports that place a premium on infrastructure and resources.

Referring to how the Republic’s Maximilian Maeder won a bronze in the new men’s kite event, Team Singapore chef-de-mission Tan Wearn Haw said: “When there’s innovation in sports, in the events and the competition format... we need to seize on the opportunity to jump the pecking order because we are still young compared to a lot of these very established countries.

“We need to be smart to focus on certain niche areas, and within those niche areas, we need to be ahead of the curve.”

David Lee

The Straits Times

Asia News Network