KPT Targets Breaking More National Records At SUKIPT 2026
KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) is targeting more national records to be broken at the 2026 Higher Education Institutions Games (SUKIPT) following the increase in participation of high-level athletes from higher education institutions (IPT) in the games.
Sports Section deputy secretary of KPT Strategic Planning Division Dr Hanafiah Ayub said SUKIPT is not only a competition arena, but also an important platform for IPT athletes to showcase their best potential in preparation for bigger tournaments such as the Asian Games.
"We are targeting more national records to be broken. If we look at athletics for example, these athletes will be going to the Asian Games and so on, so SUKIPT is a medium and platform for them to show their best potential," he told reporters after the SUKIPT 2026 Launching Ceremony at Universiti Malaya (UM), today.
Commenting on the readiness of the competition venue, Dr. Hanafiah said that almost 80 per cent of the facilities to be used for SUKIPT 2026 involve facilities on UM campus, in line with the ministry's concept of prioritising the use of IPT facilities.
He said that UM has also upgraded several facilities to meet the needs of the games in addition to receiving comprehensive support from the university management.
"If there are events that do not have facilities at UM such as hockey, bowling and golf, we will use nearby venues such as hockey at Lembah Pantai and golf at UKM," he said.
Deputy Secretary-General (Management and Development) of the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) Datuk Dr Mohd Nor Azman Hassan said SUKIPT 2026 will be an important platform in preparation for the ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2026 which is scheduled to be held this December in Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, Serdang and Bangi.
He said the seventh edition of SUKIPT is expected to be the best field to produce more high-performance athletes in the country through the participation of international-class IPT athletes in the games which will be held at Universiti Malaya (UM), from August 28 to September 6.
He said SUKIPT 2026 will feature 30 sports events with 251 gold medals on offer involving the participation of 65 contingents, more than 6,000 athletes, 2,500 officials and more than 600 volunteers in 23 competition venues.
“It is my hope that this tournament can present a competitive platform and provide space for more of our IPT students to be active in the sports arena.
“SUKIPT 2026 will continue to be a field for IPT athletes to always maintain their best performance before competing in international tournaments including the ASEAN University Games (AUG), Asian University Games, World University Games (WUG), SEA Games, Asian Games and the Olympic Games,” he said at the ceremony.
In the meantime, he said KPT maintained several SUKIPT excellence incentives including a reward of RM3,000 to SUKIPT sportsmen and sportswomen, RM7,000 to the best male and female teams and RM20,000 to athletes who break national records.
SUKIPT 2026 is scheduled to be held at UM from August 28 to September 6, involving the participation of more than 6,000 athletes from 65 contingents.
-– BERNAMA
