KUALA LUMPUR: National diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri was given the honour of lighting the cauldron of a gigantic torch that marked the opening of the 29th Sea Games at the National Stadium on Saturday.
A bronze medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Dhabitah was suspended to the cauldron as soon as the torch was passed to her at the end of a relay by past, present and junior athletes.
Among the torch-bearers were bowlers Kenny Ang, Siti Safiyah and Rafiq Ismail, cyclists Datuk Ng Joo Ngan, Fatehah Mustapha and Shah Firdaus Sahrom, hockey players Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi and Faizal Shaari, athletes Zaki Sadri, Khairul Hafiz Jantan and R. Kirthana, badminton players Datuk Razif Sidek, Chan Peng Soon and Goh Jin Wei and divers Bryan Nickson Lomas and Pandelela Rinong.
At the kick off of the opening ceremony, 1980 Malaysian Olympic team football players Datuk James Wong, Datuk Shukor Salleh and Datuk Santokh Singh led the parade, flying the flags the participating countries.
A host of past and present athletes marched close behind, carrying the Sea Games Federation flag including Shalin Zulkifli, M. Ramachandran, Nurul Huda Abdullah, Datuk Rabuan Pit, Sharon Low, Rashid Sidek, Datuk Zaiton Othman, Jeffrey Ong, G. Shanti, Sharulneeza Razali, Elaine Teo, Nurherman Majid and Norsyam Yoon.
Also featured in the parade were para athletes coaches R. Jaganathan, Choo Yih Hwa and Nasri Nasir.
Meanwhile, national high jumper Nauraj Singh Randhawa led the athletes in taking their oath after a trio of flag bearers, world champions Azizulhasni Awang, Al-Jufferi Jamari and Cheong Jun Hoong, led the Malaysian contingent into the stadium for the contingents' march past.
KL2017 was opened by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V, after speeches by Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.