Relief for athletes, coaches

 

A profound report by Timesport has brought back the smiles to athletes affected by the cancellation of several track events in the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Games, which start on Sept 16. -Pic credit to wikipedia

KUALA LUMPUR: A profound report by Timesport has brought back the smiles to athletes affected by the cancellation of several track events in the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Games, which start on Sept 16.

Yesterday, it was learnt that the Malaysia Games Supreme Committee (MGSC) have reinstated five of the six women's field events that were cancelled earlier.

Initially, the MGSC scrapped the events because they did not receive a minimum participation of six states.

Timesport spoke to Perak athletics chief coach Tan Chong Mong and Johor chief coach Simon Lau, who both felt that the "minimum six" ruling was absurd.

Making their way back into the Malaysia Games to the relief of many athletes will be pole vault, hammer, discus, shot putt and triple jump. The 10,000m walk remains sidelined.

Simon said he thanked Timesport for highlighting the cancellation of the five track events as this has led to the organisers bringing back the five field events.

"The article (in Timesport) has led to the MGSC reversing their decision on the five events.

"This is a big relief for the athletes and also coaches.

"Our discus athlete, Nor Atiqah (Sufiah), who was affected by the scrapping of her event, can now train and compete to win a gold at the Malaysia Games.

Chong Mong was delighted that his complaint has met with empathy from the Games organisers.

Earlier, Chong Mong had voiced his disappointment over the sidelining of six women's field events from the Games.

"This is great news for the women's athletes who were sad and upset earlier as they had thought that all their hard work was wasted.

"Now, they can eagerly look forward to the Malaysia Games, which will be held after four years following the Covid pandemic," said Chong Mong.

He stressed that putting back the five disciplines is vital to the development of Malaysian field events.

Correspondingly, the five gold won by Malaysia at the Hanoi Sea Games in May came from field athletes: They were Grace Wong (women's hammer), Nor Sarah Adi (women's pole vault), Irfan Shamsuddin (men's discus), Andre Anura Anwar (men's triple jump) and Jackie Wong (men's hammer). Women's discus athletes Queenie Ting won a silver while Choo Kang Ni bagged a bronze in Hanoi.

Chong Mong said with the reinstatement of the five events, they will know who are the best in the concerned events to be selected for the national back-up squad.

"The objective of the Games is to look for athletes with talent, and by bringing back the five events, we will be able to scout for new talents.

"I thank the MGSC for reinstating the events," Chong Mong added. - NST