CUCMS bags nine gold to retain champion title
Aresearch found that skills gained from sports could improve academic performance. With a similar aim, the Malaysian Pharmacy Students’ Association (MyPSA) recently organised a sports carnival to create a platform for pharmacy students to cultivate a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
The 11th MyPSA National Pharmacy Sports Carnival hosted by International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) at its Kuantan campus early this month saw the gathering of pharmacy students from 19 universities.
Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS) students bagged nine gold, making them champion for two years in a row. The student athletes also won 12 silver and 8 bronze.
The contingent was led by Mohammad Izzul Abd Rani, with Masro Mohamad as adviser.
CUCMS Faculty of Pharmacy dean Professor Datin Dr Rosnani Hashim said: “It’s amazing, andasthedean,Iamproudofour pharmacy students. The university always provides full support to student development, and it is now proven that our holistic approaches have produced a balanced human capital.”
“We encourage them to take part and excel in both academic and extra-curricular activities.
“We believe in holistic student development and being the first private institution to continue to strive in this competition is amazing. Congratulations to all lecturers and students who have put extra efforts and went through thick and thin together as a team.”
The nine gold medals were won from different events, such as athletics 100m (men), 200m (men) and 200m (women); swimming 4x50m freestyle (men) and swimming 4x50m freestyle (women); sepak takraw; tennis (women) single; tennis (women) double; and, squash (women).
Masro, who is Faculty of Pharmacy Sports and Recreation Bureau adviser, said: “I made sure the students were equipped with systematic training long before the games. The students have to go through our faculty sports carnival and multiple selection processes to be the university representatives.
The university always provides full support to student development, and it is now proven that our holistic approaches have produced a balanced human capital.”
“They were also exposed to friendly matches to curb nervousness and get them used to the tournament. To boost their stamina, a highintensity interval training was also introduced.
“Our achievement last year was our greatest inspiration. This year, we strove harder to defend our title as the overall champion.
“I encouraged them to give their best for our university and focus on winning the games.
“The students also received full support from lecturers and coaches as we were there to lift up their spirit and ensure powerful cheers during the games.”
Mohammad Izzul, who is also a third-year pharmacy student and a silver medallist for men’s basketball, said: “We are grateful to be announced as the overall champion of the sports carnival. As the head of the contingent, I always monitor each teams’ progress and players’ conditions, making sure that they are mentally and physically prepared to face our opponents in the games. Support from and expectations of our lecturers boosted our spirit to strive for the best.”
Meanwhile, student athlete Zainol Johari said: “As a final-year student, our schedules are tight. However, by participating in sports, I learned new skills and also released my stress.
“Having a sense of time management and being able to cope with everything else in between is only the tip of the iceberg. But, it’s an absolute blessing to be surrounded with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.”
Zamri won gold for the 100m men’s athletics and 4x50m freestyle men’s swimming, and silver for the 4x100m men athletics and 50m freestyle men’s swimming at the sports carnival.
Lavanya Chanara, a second-year pharmacy student and a silver medallist for the 4x100m women’s athletics and 4x400m women’s athletics, said: “To ensure a perfect balance between studies and sports is hard, but it’s not impossible.
“We should have an excellent time management system, a burning desire to work hard and an ability to sacrifice for success on both fronts.
“Besides that, the support, love, and trust from my family were powerful motivator for me to maintain a good balance between academics and sports.”
Another silver medallist, Salma Sherif Ahmed, who is an international pharmacy student from Egypt, said: “It was hard to balance my studies and sports.
“But, if you have a loving and supporting team, amazing coaches and great lecturers who always push you to do your best, you will find the motivation to do anything, no matter how hard it is.
“Also, being ambitious by nature helps because you would want to achieve greatness in as many things as you can,” she added.
Salma won silver for the 50m breaststroke women’s swimming and gold for the 4x50m freestyle women’s swimming.
Last year, CUCMS became the first private institution to be champion of the tournament and collected the most medals in the sports carnival’s 11 years history.
Past champions include International Islamic University Malaysia who was took the title for for seven consecutive years (2008 to 2014) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (2015 and 2016).