Azman (seated second right) and (from second left) Ong, Sivapragasam and Rodzli gesture with veteran athletes and officials at the Hari Raya Open House last Saturday. — Photo by Harry Ilias
KUCHING: Six hundred and eighty athletes and 120 officials from 20 teams will be competing in the 31st Malaysian International Open Masters Athletics Championships (MIOMAC) at the Sarawak Stadium from July 22-23.
Chief de mission for the Sarawak contingent Dato Sri Dr Azman Samaon said the response to the championship was very encouraging with the participation of athletes from nine foreign countries despite the venue being outside Kuala Lumpur for the first time in the event’s history.
The local teams are Sarawak which comprised 87 athletes, IPG Kampus Pendidikan Islam Bangi, PDRM, UNIMAS, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Penang, Sabah, Selangor, Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan while the foreign teams include Brunei, Hong Kong China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan.
“We are hosting this event with the cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Malaysian Masters Athletic Association (MMAA) and the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) and we have the full support from the federal government in hosting it for the first time in Sarawak,” Azman told a press conference at the Hari Raya Adilfitri Open House at his residence at Jalan Astana on Saturday.
With him were MMAA secretary S Sivapragasam, SSC chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee and Sarawak team manager Ahmad Rodzli Hashim who is also the secretary of the Sarawak Masters Athletic Association (POMSAR).
Azman, who is also POMSAR president, said the association is looking after the welfare of the athletes who have ‘retired’ from the state or national teams and are still actively involved in athletics.
Ong said preparations for the hosting of the event is going on smoothly with the organisers having already met three times.
“We are not only promoting sports among the young athletes but also among the older athletes. We may be organising our own Sarawak Masters Athletics Championships next year where all the veteran athletes will be looking forward to,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rodzli said Sarawak are targeting 10 gold medals in the championship, with ‘Flying Dayak’ Watson Nyambek, five-time SEA Games hammer throw champion Wong Tee Kue and Tupong state assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman among the medal prospects.
“The athletes have started training this week,” he added.
The chief minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg will officiate at the opening ceremony on July 22 at 2:30pm.