Francis Nyurang Ding
KUCHING: Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) was given RM5 million to prepare its athletes for the coming Sukma XVII in Perlis next year.
MSNS director, Francis Nyurang Ding said on Tuesday that the bulk of the fund is to ensure state athletes have adequate training and exposure.
“We have received post-mortem reports from various sports associations saying that they failed to do well in previous Sukma due to lack of training and exposure for the athletes and I do not want this to happen in future Sukma,” he said.
“How we fare in Sukma 2014 in Perlis is very important to us as we can assess where our athletes stand when we host Sukma in 2016 with the main target to be the overall champions,” he added.
Meanwhile, the sports council is continuously monitoring the performance of its athletes very closely including those who are in Category A.
“The athletes in Category A are not assured of their place in the Sukma contingent as there is no automatic slot to Sukma,” Francis said, adding that MSNS will not hesitate to drop them from the team if their performance drop.
He said the council had to be strict in this matter because it only wants the best to represent Sarawak at the Malaysia Games.
“I also hope that those in Category C will continue to improve their performance because this is the best chance for them to show what they are really made of,” he said.
Sarawak will be taking part in 23 out of 24 events at Sukma XVII in Perlis with sailing as the only one not to be competed.