The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- The missing link
- Khairy to look into matters after review
- Kevin smashes 400m freestyle national record to take gold
| Posted: 18 May 2013 05:51 PM PDT From having so many world class athletes to just a handful, Malaysian sport continues to over-rely on the same old faces. Perhaps, the new Sports Minister can solve this problem. "WHEN are you going to write my autobiography?" national bowler Shalin Zulkifli had asked me once. I never really gave her an answer ... but I am tempted, though. There's just so much that young aspiring athletes can learn from Shalin's colourful life – both as a sportswoman and a person. About 20 years ago, she was the country's youngest national champion. And last week, she was proudly celebrating Mother's Day – still as one of the country's top bowlers. After all these years, her fire and passion for the sport hasn't faded an iota. Next month, top shuttler Lee Chong Wei, cyclist Azizulhasni Awang and few others will be celebrating their first Father's Day. These athletes too have come a long way – blazing of trail of success that others are dying to emulate. These athletes and a handful of others – like Nicol David (squash) and Alex Liew (bowling) – share a common trait: they are fighters, highly-motivated and truly the ambassadors of their sports. Are they a dying breed? Are these the last few Mohicans of the country's proud tradition and production of stars with substance? There have been so many great athletes in the past that one's face just lights up thinking about their dedication, sacrifices and achievements. The present batch of youngsters, however, seems to be missing that touch of class in them. Some can hardly speak to save themselves while others only last as long as the indelible ink (if you know what I mean). Sport is all about athletes, said China's badminton coach Li Yongbo. And I agree with him. And athletes should be given the right and freedom to speak up, said National Sports Council (NSC) director of organisational development and athletes' affair Zaiton Othman. I couldn't agree more with the former track queen either. But, here in Malaysia, it is easier said than done. Remember Article 88 of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)? There is no denying that all national sports associations (NSA) are held accountable for training, raising and producing top quality athletes. So, with this being the season of election in many of the sports associations, let's hope that the new leaders will get their priorities – and focus – right. If you ask me, "athletes before self" should be their motto. Perhaps newly-appointed Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin can show them the way. At 37, he is certainly younger and more vibrant than all his predecessors and probably will be able to better connect with the current generation of athletes. Malaysia has been producing half-baked athletes for far too long due to the combustible combination of selfish officials and lack of good sports culture at the grassroots level. If Khairy chooses to close an eye to this, then I dread to think of how low Malaysian sport will go. The writer likes the idiom "a new broom sweeps clean". But she hopes the freshness from the changes will linger on. |
| Khairy to look into matters after review Posted: 18 May 2013 05:53 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: New Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin will look into the ongoing and proposed projects by the ministry before making any decisions. He said he would let the ministry officials submit a review of all the projects to him "before decisions can be made". "I want to look at the impact of the project ... if the impact is little, then we may have to channel the effort into something else. If the project is ongoing, then we have to look into making it more beneficial," he said on the sidelines of the Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MIMMA) event in Kelana Jaya yesterday. Khairy, prior to taking the seat as minister in the Cabinet recently, was the brainchild of MIMMA together with Tune Talk chief executive officer Jason Lo. The ministry, which was previously under the helm of Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, have several high-impact projects in the pipeline, including the RM80mil indoor velodrome slated to be built in Labu, Negri Sembilan. The ministry is also the main financial backbone of the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), where operating costs have escalated from RM7.5mil in 2009 to about RM16mil this year. Meanwhile, Khairy has called upon the FA of Malaysia (FAM) to seriously look into the issue of match-fixing after what transpired during the Premier League match between Kuala Lumpur and Sime Darby FC on Saturday. Banners declaring "Bookie detected" and another one stating the scoreline "Bookie 5 – Fans 0" were seen at the Cheras Stadium on Saturday. Ironically, Sime Darby won 5-0. "I take the issue very seriously and it has been haunting the local scene for a while. I will have a meeting with the FAM regarding this matter. "I won't compromise on this issue. As if it is not enough that the state of our football is in the doldrums, we are being bogged down by match-fixing now," said Khairy, who held the FAM deputy president's post in 2007. |
| Kevin smashes 400m freestyle national record to take gold Posted: 18 May 2013 05:55 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Another day, another record tumbles. This time it's Kevin Yeap who reigned supreme to claim his first individual national record at the Malaysian Open Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday. The Perak swimmer powered home to clock 3:53.26 in the 400m freestyle to smash Daniel Bego's national record of 3:53.99 set at the 2009 Laos SEA Games en route to clinching the gold. Sarawak's Daniel was again the bridesmaid, taking home his third silver of the meet in 3:54.01. Fellow Sarawakian Vernon Lee finished third in 3:58.87. "I'm very happy ... it's the first time I've dipped under 3:54. It was a really good race, and Daniel, he really pushed me hard," said a delighted Kevin, who qualified fastest in the heats after equalling his previous best of 3:54.19. In fact, Kevin had been hoping to break the 400m freestyle record for some time now, having come close three times previously. "I came close at last year's Malaysian Open, Dubai Swimming Championships and the Southeast Asian Championships but I was about 0.05 seconds off the pace," said the 24-year-old. "So, I'm really glad it happened today. And I managed to peak at the right time. I've been pushing myself hard in training to swim faster ... so, I guess all the hardwork in the pool has paid off." He's not stopping there though as he's now got his sights on breaking Jeffery Ong's 22-year-old 1,500m freestyle national record of 15:23.01. When Jeffery set the mark in at the Universiade Games in Sheffield, United Kingdom, in 1991, Kevin was just two years old. Kevin's personal best in the 1,500m freestyle is 15:32.51, which he achieved at last year's Malaysian Open, and the youngster is looking forward to breaking the mark at the World Championships in Barcelona in July. "That's next on my list. Hopefully, I can peak again at the World Championships and give it a real go," said Kevin, who has qualified for both the 400m freestyle and 1,500m freestyle. Meanwhile, Siow Yi Ting and Khoo Cai Lin also notched new meet records en route to striking gold in the 200m breaststroke and 400m freestyle respectively. Yi Ting's 2:32.97 was enough to see her clinch her third meet record of the meet while Cai Lin took the 400m title in style in 4:17.73. |
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