Archery centre up in Petra Jaya soon

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KUCHING: Sarawak will have its own dedicated archery centre here soon in Petra Jaya.

The assurance came from Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

“I have presented the suggestion to the state cabinet and so far the response has been positive. The state needs at least one dedicated archery centre here for our state archers to train at,” he added.

As Sarawak will host Sukma in 2016, he said, it is only appropiate that one be built here soon for the occasion.

Most archery competitions and training are presently conducted on football fields and places with wide open space.

Karim noted that archery has a significant following throughout the state, with clubs and tournaments organised all over the state, all year round.

Therefore, he felt that the state should take this opportunity to develop the sport to become a national powerhouse.

“Talents should be unearthed and gems should be polished. The building of this archery complex is one of the government’s efforts to help archery’s development here,” he said.

Sukma archery coach Abdul Razak Yaacob could not be happier on learning about the upcoming facility.

“This is the only way for us to produce quality archers. Unlike other states, Sarawak has a huge following in archery and it is not an impossible thing for the state to become an archery powerhouse in the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, he added, there is still a lot of work to be done for local archers to catch up their counterparts in states like Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu.

But he believes that Sarawak is heading the right direction and the state team could make good use of the impending facility to achieve that goal.

Both Karim and Razak were interviewed at SMK Tabuan Jaya yesterday.

Karim officiated the opening ceremony of the 16th Sarawak Outdoor Archery Championship from April 23-27.

Also present were Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) officers and archery officials.