KBS committed to help athletes face packed 2022 calendar

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9  -- The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) is committed to helping the country's athletes make the necessary preparations to compete in 2022, which has a calendar packed with various important tournaments.

Its minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said although major sports events such as the Malaysia Games (Sukma), SEA Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games would take place within a short time span, the performance of athletes was expected to remain at the optimum level.

"It’s a huge challenge, but we are on a level playing field with the other countries involved, especially from Southeast Asia. All these countries will also be involved in the SEA Games, Asian Games and of course some will be involved in the Commonwealth Games as well.

"So the competition in that sense, is quite similar, but we try to prepare our athletes as best we can through the Podium Programme, which we will continue with to the best of our ability," he told Bernama.

He was met at KBS’ booth in conjunction with the 100-day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family Aspirations) programme at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here today.

Athletes are expected to go through a tight tournament calendar next year, which is expected to start with Sukma Games in the capital, followed by the Hanoi SEA Games from May 12-23, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (July 28-Aug 8) and the Hangzhou Asian Games (Sept 10-25).

Meanwhile, he also invited the public to come to the KBS booth at the programme to provide views and input on strengthening the quality of sports in the country, including in terms of youth development.

National divers Datuk Pandelela Rinong, Nur Dhabitah Sabri, Leong Mun Yee, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli (para shot put), Muhammad Rafiq Ismail, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman (tenpin bowling) and S. Suresh (para archery) were among the athletes who attended the meet and greet session.

In the meantime, Pandelela said as an athlete, she would continue to train with the hope of being able to deliver her best performance in all competitions.

"Right now, there are many challenges (following the COVID-19 pandemic), and next year, we don't know what the plans are, so all we can do is to train hard and give our best as usual," she said.

-- BERNAMA