MENJELANG tibanya detik 100 hari temasya Kuala Lumpur 2017, rantau Asia Tenggara terus diulit rasa teruja dengan penjelajahan Larian Baton Bangkit Bersama yang memasuki pusingan kelapan di Phnom Penh pada Sabtu (22 April).

Acara julung kali yang dianjurkan bersempena Sukan SEA ke-29 dan Sukan Para ASEAN ke-9 pada Ogos dan September ini semakin hampir ke penghujung dengan hanya tinggal dua bandar Jakarta dan Singapura yang belum disinggahi sebelum baton kembali ke Johor, Malaysia pada 13 Mei ini.

Larian sejauh 10 km yang melalui enam hentian di Phnom Penh berlangsung meriah dengan kelibat anak emas Kemboja, atlet Taekwondo Sorn Seavmey dan jagoan dunia Petanque, Ouk Sreymom yang menjadi tumpuan utama.

Seavmey, atlet pertama Kemboja yang meraih kejayaan emas pada Sukan Asia 2014 di Incheon, Korea Selatan, menggalas tugas sebagai pelari pertama.

“Larian Baton di Kemboja merupakan satu kejayaan dan begitu memuaskan. Secara keseluruhannya, kami bangga dan berpuas hati dengan semua negara dalam menjayakan acara bersejarah ini. Kesungguhan Kemboja kali ini sekali lagi menjadi bukti keutuhan semangat setiakawan serantau,” kata Menteri Belia dan Sukan Datuk M Saravanan selepas menjayakan larian pusingan kelapan itu.

Simbolik perasmian disempurnakan Datuk Saravanan menerusi penyerahan baton kepada Menteri Pelajaran, Belia dan Sukan Kemboja Dr Hang Chuan Naron di kawasan mula di perkarangan Kedutaan Malaysia di Phnom Penh.

Ouk Sreymom, jaguh wanita yang baru sahaja memenangi gelaran juara dunia petanque dalam acara individu di Belgium Ahad lalu, nyata teruja dan gembira.”Kegembiraan memenangi Kejuaraan Dunia minggu lalu berterusan dengan penghormatan yang diberikan untuk berlari pada larian baton ini. Secara tidak langsung ia membentuk komuniti yang baik ketika mengambil bahagian di dalam acara ini.”

Selain Sreymon, dua atlet sukan Petanque yang pernah memegang gelaran juara dunia sebanyak dua kali, Ker Leng iaitu pada 2013 (Perancis) dan 2015(Thailand) serta atlet lelaki, Sok Chan Mean yang merupakan juara dunia tahun lalu, turut serta.

Seavmey menyerahkan baton kepada atlet Para Van Vun, atlet 100 meter T54 berkerusi roda yang dan merupakan pembawa bendera bagi kontinjen Kemboja di Paralimpik Rio tahun lalu, yang menanti di hentian kedua di pejabat Kedutaan Thailand.

Van Vun kemudiannya menyerahkan baton di hentian ketiga di hadapan Hospital Palang kepada kepada atlet gusti wanita Zhou Sotheara yang kemudian meneruskan larian ke hentian keempat di hadapan bangunan Parlimen.

Menanti Sotheara di hadapan Istana Diraja Kemboja adalah juara berganda petanque dunia, Ker Leng.

Atlet Chinlone, Eung Narith yang menanti di depan Istana Di Raja Kemboja mengambil alih dari Sotheara ssebelum juara dunia petanque lelaki 2016, Sok Chan Mean meneruskan larian dari Sekolah Kebangsaan Chaktomouk sehingga ke bulatan Wat Som Pov Meah.

Sreymom meneruskan tugas sebagai pelari terakhir sehingga ke perkarangan Stadium Nasional Olimpik sekaligus melengkapkan larian.

Sreymom menyerahkan baton kepada Setiausaha Kementerian Pelajaran Belia dan Sukan Kemboja, Sean Borath yang kemudian menyerahkannya kepada Datuk Saravanan.

Datuk Saravanan menyerahkan baton sebagai simbolik penganjuran pusingan seterusnya di Jakarta pada 30 April ini, kepada Duta Indonesia ke Kemboja Pitono Purnomo.

“Larian baton ini nyata amat bersejarah buat Kemboja kerana ia memberi peluang kepada kami menimba pengalaman,s esuai dengan persiapan maki menganjurkan Sukan SEA ke-32 pada 2023 nanti,”kata Borath.

Turut hadir, Duta Malaysia ke Kemboja, Dato’ Sri Hassan Malek dan wakil kedutaan dari negara anggota ASEAN, Timbalan Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Belia dan Sukan, Pn Haslina Abdul Hamid dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Sekretariat Jawatankuasa Penganjur Malaysia (MASOC) Kuala Lumpur 2017, Dato’ Seri Zolkples Embong.

Seavmey and Sreymom give credence to Baton Run in Cambodia

TWO of Cambodia’s biggest athletes – Asian Games taekwondo champion Sorn Seavmey and Petanque world champion Ouk Sreymom  – gave further credence to the fast-gaining momentum of the Rising Together Baton Run as they provided the focus here in Cambodia.

The Cambodian stage this morning is the eighth in the inaugural Baton Run following successful staging in Brunei, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor Leste.

“I hope that through this Baton Run, it will inspire the next generation of world champions for Cambodia,” said Seavmey at the start of the race.

Added Sreymom: “I think that I am very lucky to be able to take part in this Run alongside other runners as it has given a strong community feeling to the event.”

With the well-equipped Malaysian Embassy chosen as the starting point here in Phnom Penh, the Baton Run was once again attended by Datuk M. Saravanan, the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, who did the customary passing of the baton to H.E. Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Combodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sports as the latter then handed the baton to first runner Seavmey.

Seavmey was Cambodia’s first gold medalist at the Asian Games since 1954 when she won the women’s under-73 kg event at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. She also made it to the round of 16 at the Olympic Games in Rio last year.

The petite Seavmey led the first batch of runners of close to 300 to the first checkpoint in front of the Embassy of Thailand where it was taken over by Para athlete Van Vun, Cambodia’s flag bearer at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games opening ceremony.

The next checkpoint at the former Red Cross Hospital saw the baton being passed over to wrestler Zhou Sotheara, who was a late inclusion at the Rio Olympic Games, as she ran the next kilometer to the roundabout near the Cambodian Parliament Building.

Petanque former world champion Ke Leng was the focus as she carried the baton to the next checkpoint in front of the Royal Palace for chinlone star Eung Narith to take over.

At the Chaktomouk Primary School, another petanque world champion Sok Chan Mean then took over the baton as he then ran to meet team mate Sreymom near the National Olympic Council of Cambodia.

Sryemom was crowned ladies singles world champion at the World Petanque Championships in Ghent, Belgium last Sunday.

She led a group of more than 600 runners all the way to the finish line at the National Olympic Stadium to the accompaniment of traditional Khmer dancers and a few hundred cheering students.

In total, the Baton Run here in Cambodia covered almost 10km with more than 6,000 runners taking part.

At the finish line, Sreymom then returned the baton to H.E. Sean Borath, the Secretary of State of the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports as he then handed it back to Datuk Saravanan.

The baton was then handed to H.E. Pitono Purnomo, the Ambassador of Indonesia to Cambodia.

The baton heads for the next stop in Jakarta where the Baton Run will be held 30 April.

Other dignitaries in attendance were H.E. Dato’ Sri Hassan Malek, Ambassador of Malaysia to Cambodia and representatives from all embassies of ASEAN countries.

Also present were Pn Haslina Abdul Hamid, of Ministry of Youth and Sports Deputy Secretary-General as well as Dato’ Sri Zolkples Embong, the Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Organising Committee (MASOC) Kuala Lumpur  2017.

“The Baton Run here in Cambodia has been a big success. In general, we are very happy with the cooperation and also the enthusiasm of the host countries thus far. This is very evident here in Phnom Penh,” Datuk Saravanan.

Added Borath: “it is a historic day for Cambodian sports where today we were given the honour to host the Baton Run. This will give us a good experience ahead of the 2023 SEA Games which we will host.”

The Rising Together Baton Run was conceptualized as part of the legacy for the 29th SEA Games Kuala Lumpur 2017 which Malaysia will host from 19 to 31 Aug. 

The Baton Run covers all countries taking part in the 2017 SEA Games and where it is expected to finish in Singapore on 13 May 2017 before the start of the Torch Run in Malaysia.

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