Games-Malaysian minister defends gymnast's outfit at SEA Games

By Julian Linden SINGAPORE, June 13 (Reuters) - A Malaysian government minister came out in defence of one of the country's gold medal winning gymnasts at the Southeast Asian Games after critics said her outfit was too revealing. Farah Ann Abdul Hadi was one of the stars of the artistic gymnastics competition at the 28th SEA Games in Singapore but unwittingly got more attention for her leotard than her somersaults. The 21-year-old won two gold medals, a silver and three bronzes from her six events, catapulting her into the spotlight in her Muslim homeland. Her attire, a standard costume worn by gymnasts, drew some complaints on social media with critics saying it was too revealing. But she also received strong support, including a tweet from Malaysian Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. "In gymnastics Farah wowed the judges and brought home gold. In her deeds only the Almighty judges her. Not you. Leave our athletes alone," he posted. With three days of competition remaining, Malaysia are fourth on the 11-nation medals table, with 45 golds. Thailand lead the standings with 78 golds, ahead of host-nation Singapore (74) and Vietnam (65). Thailand collected another seven golds on Saturday, including two each in tennis and taekwondo and have plenty of chances to add to their tally. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn beat her team mate Varatchaya Wongteanchai 3-6 6-0 6-4 in the women's singles, then Sanchai Ratiwatana joined forces with his twin brother Sonchat to win gold in the men's doubles at Kallang Tennis Centre. Thailand won two of the four gold medals in taekwondo, with teenager Akkarinne Kitwijarn, the silver medallist at the Asian Games, winning the men's bantamweight while Chanatip Sonkham triumphed in the women's under 49s division. Sonkham defeated Luisa dos Santos Rosa, who picked up a first silver medal for East Timor, the newest member to join the region's biggest multi-sports event. Thailand also won golds in archery, sepak takraw and petanque and were unlucky not to win another in cycling. Thailand's Asian champion Jutatip Maneephan crossed the line first in the women's road race but was later relegated to second, behind Vietnam's Nguyen Thi That, because of a rule infringement in the sprint finish. "This is according to regulations as she failed to keep in line in the last sprint, affecting the Vietnam's representative," Walter Yue, an official with the Asian Cycling Confederation, told the Straits Times. Thailand will take on surprise package Myanmar in the men's soccer final after the defending champions blew away Indonesia 5-0 at Singapore's National Stadium. The Thais, 14-times champions of the under-23 gold at the biennial Games, will start Monday's final as heavy favourites against a Myanmar team that upset Vietnam 2-1. Tiny Singapore, which led the medals table for the first 10 days before being overtaken by Thailand on Friday night, held on to second place after picking four more golds on Saturday, including two in sailing. The youngest winner was 14-year-old Jodie Lai, who claimed gold in the women's optimist class. Last year, Lai became the youngest Singaporean to win a gold medal at the Asian Games when she won the same event aged 13. (Reporting by Julian Linden; editing by Justin Palmer)