Day: June 25, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Former national professional rugby player K. Dinesvaran says a centralised training programme of at least six months can do wonders for the national 15-a-side (15’s) rugby squad before playing in a major tournament.

Dinesvaran, better known as Dugro, said that length of time is enough to prepare a team to compete with the might of regional champions.

‘I have been dwelling on this for a long time, I think we need centralised training over a period of six months, not six months straight, but we can start with gathering the players in January maybe, followed by an ice-breaking session. From there, we will be able to form a compatible team.

‘So, six months is good for the players. If we do that, I think we can keep the standard high in this Premier League,’ he told a press conference after the launch of the Royal Selangor Club (RSC) Rugby Academy here today.

Last Friday, the national team ended its run in the 2024 Asian Rugby Championship (ARC) campaign with a 19-62 defeat to the host team UAE
at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

Prior to that, the Bunga Raya 15’s squad lost 5-55 to South Korea before losing 6-70 to Hong Kong in the four-nation Asian top-tier tournament.

Commenting further, Dugro, a former player of Japanese rugby club Yamah Jubilo and Hino Red Dolphins, said preparing a team within a very short period of time would be a difficult task for any coach.

‘Even if we bring in a coach from the All Blacks and give him six weeks to train the team, he couldn’t possibly weave his magic too as he would also want the players to be really match-ready.

‘Six weeks of gruelling training, players will be at high risk of injuries. They will not be ready, so six weeks is near impossible, it must at least be six months,’ said Dugro, who was the first Malaysian to play with the Chicago Hounds in US (United States) major league rugby.

In the meantime, Dugro, who is director of the RSC Rugby Academy programme, said his fervent hope is to share his knowledge and experience with players at the grassroots l
evel to produce as many top players as possible who can make the country proud.

‘I think just playing abroad is not enough (for me) to contribute to the country, so I thought of sharing it with young players, to raise the standard of rugby even more,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The beautiful design of the official jersey for Malaysia’s contingent to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will hold no significance if they fail to achieve the nation’s first gold medal in Paris.

Chef de Mission (CDM) Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said that the main theme of the official attire, including the use of gold instead of the previous orange, aims to evoke the relentless pursue of medals for the nation at the prestigious global sporting event.

“We have agreed with Yonex (the official attire manufacturer) to showcase the colour gold. The orange colour has been around since 2004, and many athletes before this have requested the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to change to another colour.

“OCM has agreed with Yonex to change to gold because we are aiming for gold, that’s actually the theme, and Yonex also believes that the gold hue complements the black. However, even if the colour is beautiful but we do not get gold or medals, it is of no use,” he said to reporters after observing the traini
ng session of professional women’s singles player Goh Jin Wei here today.

He also clarified that the use of the Malaysian flag on the left part of the official attire, which was questioned by social media users, actually represents the official OCM logo.

“The colours of orange, gold and blue are all acceptable; this is the logo of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, not the Malaysian flag, so there is no issue,” he said.

Hamidin, who is also OCM deputy president, said that the majority of the country’s athletes who will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games have agreed with the design of the national contingent’s official attire.

With less than a month remaining before the official opening of Paris 2024 on July 26, Hamidin advised everyone, including the public, to continue to provide strong support to the national contingent for this Olympic Games.

Acknowledging criticisms on social media regarding the design of the official attire, he said that OCM may open opportunities for the public to contribute the
ir designs for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

“I have contacted OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria and he has essentially agreed that next time we will open up to fans for designing the contingent’s official attire for the next cycle, and we may even provide incentives,” he said.

Meanwhile, he admitted the mistake of using mannequins to showcase the national contingent’s official attire for the 2024 Olympic Games, consisting of collared shirts, T-shirts, and jackets introduced during the Olympic Day celebration at a shopping centre in the capital city last Sunday.

Recently, sports enthusiasts on social media have expressed dissatisfaction with the design, claiming it to be somewhat outdated and lacked inspiration compared to previous national contingent’s official attire.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Professional women’s badminton singles player Goh Jin Wei will have to make her debut at the 2024 Olympic Games without her coach, Nova Armada by her side.

She shared that her request to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to take her Indonesian coach with her was unsuccessful as there was a limited number of accreditation cards issued by the International Olympic Council (IOC).

‘I’ve tried my best to ask for my coach (to be in Paris). He has been with me for the past three years but finally he can’t go, so I’m disappointed I can’t bring my own coach.

‘This has happened before but this time it’s so important because the Olympic Games is a once in a lifetime experience,’ she told reporters here after a visit from Chef de Mission (CDM) Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin here today.

The 33rd world ranked player said she would still try to do her best to adapt to not having her coach guide her at courtside during the Olympics, even though she admitted it would be very tough.

On whether she was ready to
accept assistance from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in Paris, Jin Wei said that their coaches might have difficulty adapting to her training regimen and playing style but nevertheless expressed her willingness to accept the support services offered by the National Sports Institute at the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Hamidin said that Jin Wei would receive assistance, including guidance from Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky throughout her time in Paris, adding that there should be no need for concern as the OCM, the National Sports Council and the national badminton squad would be looking after her during their stay at the sports village.

‘Nova Armada can come to Paris, but it’s hard for him to go to the training centre as our contingent is small and the percentage of getting accreditation cards are slim,’ he said.

The 2024 Olympics will begin on July 26 and end on Aug 11.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Selangor FC are examining and studying all appropriate channels to take further action after being fined RM100,000 and deducted three points for the 2024/2025 Super League competition by the Malaysian Football League (MFL) today.

The Red Giants in a statement took note of MFL’s decision regarding the fine imposed for not turning up for the Charity Shield match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor last month.

“The club has actually requested a postponement of the match after the criminal acid attack on Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim on May 5, and several other incidents involving national football players, but the request was rejected,” according to the statement.

Besides the fine, the MFL board of directors also decided that the 14th Super League match between Selangor and JDT at Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium (MBPJ), will be played without spectators.

The three-point cut saw Selangor, who are currently in second position in the Super League with nine points, falling to t
he fifth place.

Following the incident that befell Faisal Halim and several players, Selangor last month insisted on prioritizing the safety of the team apart from taking a serious view on all forms of threats and will not compromise on any issue related to the matter.

The result saw JDT given a ‘walkover’ victory with a score of 3-0 and got three points for Super League action.

MFL also said that the RM100,000 fine imposed on Selangor will be donated to a charity to be decided later.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency