No more turn-based managers

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NSC tells sports associations to appoint heads by end of month, wants those who can work

KUALA LUMPUR: All sports associations whose athletes have qualified to compete at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and the Asian Games in Guangzhou have been asked to appoint their respective managers before the end of the month.National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong said the associations were also required to name only one manager each to facilitate the monitoring of athletes’ performance and welfare.

“They are also asked to name managers who can work, and not appoint them based on their turn among the associations’ council members.

“Choosing managers based on their turn should no longer be practised,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Zolkples had earlier briefed representatives of 27 sports associations on the NSC’s programme for this year as well as the preparations for the Commonwealth Games (Oct 3-14) and the Asian Games (Nov 13-21).

Zolkples, who is Malaysia’s chef de mission to the Asian Games, said associations were also told to rationalise their athletes’ participation in championships abroad and in the country based on their budget capacity and the need to ensure that their athletes were not injured or experiencing fatigue.

On the NSC’s priority for the two games, Zolkples said it was up to the coaches to set the target.

For instance, he said, for badminton, Malaysia expected three or four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games but might not be able to set the same target at the Asian Games as the powerhouses like China, South Korea and Indonesia would also be competing.

“Likewise, for weightlifting, Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim is the number one athlete in the 56kg category at the Commonwealth Games but at the Asian Games, he is facing stiff competition from Indonesian and Iranian weightlifters,” he said. — Bernama