SIMANGGANG: The Northern Zone contingent, represented by Miri, Bintulu, and Limbang, successfully reclaimed the Sarawak Games (SUKSAR) IV 2026 championship, which concluded in Sri Aman on Sunday.

This marks the second championship for the Northern Zone after previously achieving the feat during the first edition of SUKSAR in Kuching in 2017.

Fielding a total of 227 athletes, the contingent proved superior by clinching a total of 103 medals, with a breakdown of 39 gold, 37 silver, and 32 bronze to be crowned champions.

The weightlifting event was the largest contributor to the zone's gold medal tally with 15 medals, far surpassing the other contingents.

Meanwhile, karate contributed 9 gold medals, followed by table tennis with 4 golds, 3 golds each from taekwondo and mountain biking, in addition to 2 golds from the petanque event.

Boxing, sepak takraw, and softball contributed 1 gold medal each.

The defending champions, the Southern Zone, were overtaken at the final moment and finished in second place with 30 gold, 28 silver, and 24 bronze medals.

Nonetheless, it remained a proud achievement for the Southern Zone as they successfully dominated three events, namely taekwondo with 9 golds, boxing with 8 golds, and cycling with 5 golds.

The petanque and sepak takraw events contributed 2 golds each, while karate, mountain biking, netball, and basketball each collected 1 gold.

The hosts of this edition, the Western Zone, occupied third place with a tally of 19 gold, 14 silver, and 36 bronze medals.

The road racing cycling event was the largest contributor for this contingent with 5 golds, followed by 3 golds each through the sepak takraw, table tennis, and petanque events.

Two more golds came from weightlifting, while 1 gold each was contributed through boxing, karate, and taekwondo.

Meanwhile, the Central Zone settled for fourth place with a tally of 17 gold, 24 silver, and 34 bronze medals.

Weightlifting was the largest contributor for this contingent with 7 golds, taekwondo with 6 golds, and karate with 2 golds.

Boxing and basketball also contributed 1 gold each.

In the meantime, Southern Zone cyclist Zhen Xiang Kenny Lim was crowned the Promising Sportsman of SUKSAR IV 2026 following his success in bagging 4 gold medals.

The Promising Sportswoman award went to Western Zone cyclist Nur Ain Ramadhania Abdullah, also a result of her success in clinching 4 gold medals.

The closing ceremony of SUKSAR IV 2026 was officiated by the Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg, at the Indoor Stadium, Sri Aman Sports Complex on Sunday. - UKASnews

Reporter: Jonnie Kiew
Translator: Ryan Lim
Photographer: Muhammad Rais Sanusi