By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM, June 10 — The Selangor State Sports Council (MSNS) will maintain its target to be among the top three states at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) 2022.
Its executive director Mohamad Nizam Marjugi remained confident that the state athletes are able to provide a challenge even though the 20th Sukma date has been brought forward two weeks from September 16 to 24 in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration.
He said more than 500 state athletes will compete for medals in all 31 sports that will be contested.
“We will send all to represent (for each type of sport) but it depends on the current situation and their performances. We do not want to send athletes who are not fit.
“The athlete’s performance is closely related to training. So it is difficult for us to gauge their strength because there is not enough training time, not counting the advantages possessed by athletes from other states,” he added.
At the same time, Mohamad Nizam admitted that he was worried that the last-minute change in the date would affect the preparation of the state's athletes due to the shortened training period.
However, he said they abided by the decision of the Sukma Supreme Committee which had also relaxed some of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the upcoming tournament compared to the previous games.
“We have no problem with the new date because this year's Sukma rules are not strict. Even if an athlete sets a new record, it is not considered a record because it is organised to ensure that Sukma does not 'die'.
"I'm just worried in terms of preparation, as before this training was done on a weekly basis, but now if there is a suitable time they (the athletes) need to go for centralised training.
"The athletes have been informed about this new date, whether they want to or not, they must always be ready," he told Selangorkini.
On June 10, the Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the 20th Sukma has been brought forward two weeks and will be held from September 16 to 24, followed by the Para Sukma from November 1 to 6 in the Klang Valley.
He said this follows the postponement of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games previously scheduled for September 10 to 25, allowing the organisers to use public university facilities for the placement of athletes during the semester break.
