The 2008 ASEAN University Games, (Malay: Sukan Universiti ASEAN 2008) officially known as the 14th ASEAN University Games, (Malay: Sukan Universiti ASEAN ke-14) was a Southeast Asian university multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 to 21 December 2008.[1][2] This was the third time Malaysia hosted the games after 1984 and 1993.
Around 1789 athletes participated at the event which featured 219 events in 21 sports. The final medal tally was led by host Malaysia.
Venues
The 14th ASEAN University Games had 24 venues for the games, 9 in Kuala Lumpur, 14 in Selangor and 1 in Negeri Sembilan.
The logo of the games is an image of a red brush stroke human figure which represents high spirit, glory, victory, power and strength. The stars on the logo represent the targets and ambitions of the athletes. The font used for the logo, a mixture of Century Gothic and Trajan, represents the games being an event that has a variety of formal and informal agendas, while the font's stair-like arrangement represents the desire to achieve success. Meanwhile, the colours used for the font (blue, red, white and yellow) are the colours of the Malaysian flag, the ASEAN logo and the flags of its member nations.[5]
The official mascot of the games is A1 Angkasawan the astronaut, who is described as friendly, smart, high-spirited and strong. The aim of using a cartoon astronaut as the event's mascot was to remind people about Malaysia's achievement as the first ASEAN member country to sendan astronautto space back in 2007. The mortar board of the mascot represents the academic excellent and the participation of university students as athletes of the games. The logo on the chest represents the sportsmanship spirit of the athletes participating at the games. The colours of the mascot (blue, red, white and yellow) represent Malaysia as the host of the games, with blue also representing the symbol of excellence in hosting the games. The mascot also represents the determination of participating athletes to achieve their respective dreams.[6]
"Menggapai bintang" (Reach for the stars) was the theme song of the games. It was composed by Mohd Zaki Bin Ahmad from Universiti Malaysia Pahang and sung by Shahnizal bt. Mohd Arshad with lyrics written by Ahmad Fedtri Bin Yahya.[7]
The Games' torch is shaped like a pen, an instrument commonly used in worldwide universities.[8]
