KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian student athletes performed "stunningly" at the 14th Asean University Games which concluded yesterday, sweeping a whopping 90 gold, 79 silver and 47 bronze medals and emerging as the overall champion.

The swimming team were the heroes of the day when they clinched 23 of the 90 gold medals, breaking 23 game and three national records.

This was followed by the shooting squad, which secured 13 gold medals.

Malaysia, as the host nation, fielded the biggest contingent, with 400 athletes in 22 sporting events.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Idris Haron said the student athletes had performed "spectacularly".

"Winning 90 gold medals showed that our local athletes are very good. All they need is the opportunity," he said after the closing ceremony at Stadium Putra in Bukit Jalil. He suggested that more inter-varsity sporting events be held to expose these talented athletes.

The deputy minister described the event as a success. "Our past experience of hosting the AUG has led to better management. We proved we could host and manage an international sporting event."

Malaysia had previously hosted the AUG at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1984 and Universiti Teknologi Mara in 1993.

More than 2,000 athletes from universities in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos, Brunei, Cambodia and Timor Leste competed in the 11-day sporting event at Bukit Jalil stadium.

The 15th AUG will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in December 2010.