President of Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council HRH Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah (R) handing over the national flag to chef de mission of the national contingent, Pg Anak Mohd Sofian Pg Anak Hj Ibrahim, at the Green Room of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium yesterday. Picture: BT/ Md Asdeny Yakub
His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BNOC), hopes that the national athletes will not let the opportunity go to waste at the 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games.
Brunei will be sending a 17-member contingent including eight athletes to the Sept 22 to October 1 competition in Palembang, Indonesia.
The Sultanate will be competing in four sports athletics, karate, taekwando and wushu out of the 13 and are among 43 countries vying for top honours.
HRH handed over the national flag to the chef de mission of the national contingent, Pg Anak Mohd Sofian Pg Anak Hj Ibrahim, at the Green Room of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas yesterday.
"I hope that the athletes will be able to provide a challenge and perform well," said HRH.
"I also hope our athletes will be able to take this opportunity to learn and improve from every match they participate.
"Do not waste the opportunity considering that the competition will not only feature Islamic countries from the Asian region but also from Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and others," added the Prince, who is also the President of the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD).
Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Pg Rositi is the lone ranger in athletics as he will compete in the men's 400-metre event.
Siblings Mohammad Fadlah and Muhammad Fida'iy Sanif will fight for glory in karate while the duo of Mohamad Fathullah Mohamad Taib and Nurulain Md Ja'afar will compete in taekwando.
The trio of Lee YingShi and brothers Md Sufi Shayiran and Mohammad Adi Sya'rani Roslan are the wushu exponents set for the meet.
Also present for the event yesterday was Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.
Brunei had competed in the first edition of the Games in Saudi Arabia as well as the Women Islamic Games in Tehran in 2005.
The Sultanate managed a haul of one goal, two silver and two bronze medals from the latter.
The multi-sport event this year is a merger of both competitions.
Saudi Arabia are the defending champions after amassing 24 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze medals from the inaugural edition.
The second edition was originally scheduled for 2009 in Iran and was rescheduled for April 2010 before being cancelled.
The contingent will depart the Sultanate tomorrow.
