THE chef de mission of the national contingent expressed satisfaction with the Sultanate's performance in the 3rd Borneo Games which they are hosting for the first time.

Pg Sabri Pg Hj Mohammad, who is also the deputy director of the Youth and Sports Department under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, made the comment in yesterday's press conference at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National

Sports Complex. "As of today (Friday) we have already achieved more than what we did two years ago in Sarawak. The tournament is not over yet but I hope that we can reach as many as 12 gold medals before it ends," said Pg Sabri. "There were 18 sports contested in Sarawak but now it's more limited with only nine so this is a very good result for the country," added Pg Sabri.

As of yesterday, the Sulatanate have 13 golds, 14 silvers and 16 bronzes.

Brunei finished third in both 2005 and 2007, returning with seven gold, 11 silver and 17 bronze medals in Sabah and improving on that when they won nine gold, eight silver and 16 bronze medals in Sarawak.

When asked on which sport he thinks improved the most from the previous meet, Pg Sabri replied: "I think maybe cue sports. From the previous meet, we didn't win any medals. But this year we have managed to win a few gold medals from the sport."

The tournament was also seen as a platform in preparations for the upcoming Malaysian Games (SUKMA) which will be hosted by Melaka in 2010.

"We are definitely going to be ready for this competition. We will select those who can achieve at least the bronze medallist target from the last SUKMA and hopefully improve on that," said Pg Sabri.

Apart from Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Labuan contesting in the tournament, 2010 SUKMA hosts Melaka are also competing as an invitational team.

Starting in 2005 in Sabah, the Borneo Games aims to identify talents in Borneo to represent the various countries in international and regional competitions, with the secondary goal of improving the level of sports in the respective countries.

Courtesy from Brunei Times