Sports industry all geared up but doubts remain

 

A national taekwondo athlete who runs his own centre cannot wait to start face-to-face classes again. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Stakeholders in the sports and recreation sector have welcomed the news that they can resume operations after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that nearly all such activities can be held for those fully vaccinated from Friday.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Norza Zakaria said this was what the whole industry had been waiting for.

“I think the government is responding to the grievances of businesses and operators in the sports sector, which have been suffering all this while. It is timely and well deserved,” he said.

Norza said not only could sports be a uniting force for the country, as seen during the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games, but they could also ease the stress many had endured during the pandemic.

“Sports can reduce mental stress, and that’s important now as people have been going through a difficult period over the last three or four months with the strict lockdown,” he said.

Raffique Hashimi, the head instructor at BTFC Taekwondo Club and a national taekwondo athlete, said the “excellent news” meant that the sector could finally take a step forward.

“The last time I had face-to-face classes was several months ago. It has been challenging the last few months,” he said.

Despite his club introducing online classes, only a quarter of his students had joined, and having spoken to friends overseas, he said this was the norm among taekwondo gyms.

However, Jonathan Wong, the owner of Rev Republic Gym in Petaling Jaya, said it was still unclear whether gyms in the Klang Valley would be allowed to reopen.

While Phase 2 of the national recovery plan should allow for the operation of all sports and recreation outlets, including those in Selangor, Ismail’s statement excluded gyms for the fully vaccinated in Phase 1 states.

Wong said he was “torn” between wanting the sector to be able to operate again and the potential economic ramifications that could result.

“The government mentioned today that new ‘ventilation guidelines’ would be issued, so that could add additional costs to our business. On top of that, reopening means our utilities will go back up, just to cater to a limited number of gym members,” he said.

He said his gyms may be in a position to weather the extended closure, others may not be as lucky since many had already taken loans to cope with the various movement control orders (MCOs) over the last 17 months. -FMT