Day: June 22, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) believes that it has never relented in its efforts to groom more calibre players over the next few years to find glory at the Olympic Games.

SRAM president Gerard Monteiro said that while the focus was on the main players Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari to fall back on, the governing body of the sport in the country never ruled out on the advancing careers of bourgeoning young players who are also likely to become winning bets at the world’s biggest Games.

‘Now we have Sangari in the top 10 (ranked world 10th in May 2024 update by Professional Squash Association), so it is our aim and her ambition to get into the top 8 as soon as possible. We hope she will be followed by (Malaysians) Aira Azman, Aifa Azman, Rachel Arnold to be up there as well.

‘As far as we are concerned, the top ranking players we will be sending to the Olympics and if the rest are a bit behind, they will be sent for qualifying events. This is not only for the Los Angeles 2
028 (LA28) Olympic Games but also for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia,’ he said after the SRAM annual general meeting (AGM) here today.

Squash will make its Olympic debut in the 2028 Los Angeles edition.

Gerard said SRAM at the same time opened up space for players to undergo training based abroad to improve their performance.

‘Like Sivasangari who is still based in the United States, Eain Yow and C. Ameeshenraj both in Bristol, so too among our top four or top six men and women players, the majority of national players would be based overseas most of the time,’ he said.

Gerard said at the same time, SRAM is also closely following the development of national squash legend Ong Beng Hee who opened an academy in China (in June 2024) to impact the development of squash there.

‘Now we have a new band of players who are able to do well for Malaysia in the next four to six years. It’s true that China has invested a lot of money into squash for the Olympics and roped in Beng Hee, once a top player
in the world, but we’re going to keep an eye on this (development),’ he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The national 15-a-side rugby team has shown significant progress in a short period, despite not securing any victories in the 2024 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC).

National coach Mohd Farid Syazwan stated that continuous training programmes could further enhance the team’s capabilities for future tournaments.

“Overall, we observed the team’s progress from one match to another, from playing against South Korea to the UAE (United Arab Emirates), we saw improvements even in a short period.

“Therefore, if we have the opportunity to implement continuous training programmes, I believe it can enhance the team’s abilities,” he said in a statement shared by the Malaysia Rugby Union today.

Yesterday, the national team concluded their ARC 2024 campaign with a 19-62 defeat to the host team, UAE, at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

Earlier this month, the Bunga Raya 15’s suffered a 5-55 defeat to South Korea, followed by a 6-70 loss to Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Mohd Farid described yesterday’s match against UAE
as a challenging encounter for his players, who battled extreme heat conditions.

“I think it was a very challenging game because we played under extremely hot weather conditions. Many players experienced cramps. However, I commend them and am proud of their efforts in rising to the challenge of playing in such extreme heat,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PETALING JAYA, The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) will submit an appeal to the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) through the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to consider the sport’s inclusion in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.

MTBC acting president Datuk Mohammed Najeeb Abdullah expressed confidence that OCM, led by Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, would definitely take proactive steps to help their cause.

‘MTBC is disappointed for (tenpin bowling) not being listed in one of the 40 types of sports that will be contested at the upcoming SEA Games.

‘This is because since the first SEA Games were held in Bangkok, tenpin bowling has never been left out and we know that the last time in Phnom Penh (Cambodia in 2023) it was not contested because there were no facilities (bowling alley) there,’ he said here today.

Mohammed Najeeb believes that the appeal which must be made before Aug 31 this year will have the support of the majority of the member countries as most of them have tenpin bowlers.

He also opin
ed that there should be no problems with tenpin bowling venues in Thailand since it is also hosting several bowling tournaments this year.

‘(If tenpin bowling is included) as in the 2021 Hanoi SEA Games, we will indeed send our back-up squad to give them the opportunity to hone their talents and we will use the same strategy.

‘In terms of our bowlers, they are always ready despite a tight schedule since they are involved in international competitions,’ he said.

Yesterday, OCM announced that it would submit an appeal to the SEAGF to include some sports with the potential to contribute medals to Malaysia in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.

Thailand, during the recent SEAGF Sports and Regulations Committee meeting in Bangkok, proposed 40 sports including discus and tug-of-war as demonstration sports for the 33rd SEA Games scheduled from Dec 9-20 next year in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Najeeb expressed his gratitude as tenpin bowling athletes were gaining recognition, with the 2023 Na
tional Sportswoman title awarded to Natasha Mohamed Roslan at the 2023 National Sports Awards held at the National Sports Council (MSN) in Bukit Jalil recently.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency