Abdul Karim seen speaking to reporters last night.
KUCHING (Jan 24): The withdrawal of 88 Sarawak athletes from competing in the Sukan Malaysia (Sukma) games this year has to some extent affected the preparations of the Sarawak contingent to compete in the games, said Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Looking at the number of athletes who have withdrawn, Abdul Karim said Sarawak is looking for athletes who can replace them to compete in Sukma which is scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur.
“In order to ensure the preparation of the Sarawak contingent runs smoothly, the management will replace or fill the vacancies of athletes who have been shortlisted but were removed previously.
“There must be a plan or a way for us to dig out talents continuously to see the potential of athletes, so if there are one or two who come out of one sport, we believe we can find another one at least,” he said when speaking to reporters last night.
For that matter, he said that he will meet with all sports associations and sports development officers to ensure that there are athletes who could be picked to replace the withdrawn athletes and represent Sarawak in Sukma this year.
He revealed that among the reasons why Sarawak athletes withdrew from competing in the games this year were athletes passing the qualifying age for the games, having job commitments, already married and being offered to continue their studies at universities.
The 88 athletes who have withdrawn were actually bound to be competing in Sukma which was supposed to be held in Johor in the year 2020.
The games that year was not held due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, apart from the withdrawal of athletes, Abdul Karim also opined that the Covid-19 pandemic that started two years ago was also a factor affecting Sarawak’s preparations for Sukma as well.
“When we faced the Movement Control Order (MCO) over the past two years, it has to some extent affected the preparation of athletes whether it is Sukma or other competitions,” he said.
Now that Sarawak has entered Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), he hoped that all athletes could train and return to the expected level.
Before speaking to reporters, Abdul Karim had attended the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC)/ Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) 2021 Appreciation Night event held at a local hotel here.