By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, Feb 4 — Selangor is targeting at least 80 gold medals at the upcoming Malaysia Games (SUKMA) 2026, which it will host from August 15 to 26.
State contingent executive director Mohamad Nizam Marjugi said athletes from the state are expected to win 15 to 20 per cent of the total 474 events to be contested, involving 37 sports.
"This is the most comfortable number we need to be crowned champions. However, anything can happen in sports. If we look at the last SUKMA, we won too many silver and bronze medals.
"We hope every sport will contribute gold. By simple calculation, we have 37 sports, and if we get two gold medals per sport, we would already have over 60 golds. However, all athletes and coaches must play a role.
“When you reach the final stage, this is just one step away from being champions. Don’t waste this opportunity. Give your all to make sure the gold belongs to us,” he told Media Selangor.
During SUKMA 2024 in Sarawak, Selangor achieved its target of finishing in the top three after securing 181 medals — 56 gold, 64 silver and 61 bronze.
Nizam believes that swimming will be a goldmine for medals, apart from athletics, shooting and cycling.
"However, I must remind our athletes that those from other states have also improved. Still, we are confident this will not affect our gold medal target.
According to Nizam, athletics is expected to contribute many golds as Selangor is sending a full team, compared with previous editions when only a target group competed.
"The same goes for shooting and cycling. We hope sending a full team will inspire our athletes, especially since we are the host and will be competing in front of our own fans."
Nizam said the incentives offered by Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari is also expected to serve as a motivating factor to chase gold.
During the launch of the Road To Champion Sukma 2026 programme, Amirudin said the Selangor government has agreed to increase the winning incentive for its athletes by RM2,000 if the state wins the overall championship.
He said this would bring the total incentives to RM12,000 for individual athletes, RM7,000 per person for athletes in team events with fewer than three players, and RM5,000 for sports with more than three players.
