CDM URGES ATHLETES TO MATCH ASIAN POWERHOUSES
Chef-de-Mission (CDM) and former National Sports Institute chairman, Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi speaks to NSTP Sport’s Farah Azharie on the upcoming Asian Games
Question: It’s less than onemonth to the Asian Games. Anything still lacking before the Malaysian contigent begin their campaign?
Answer: I have met 27 (as of July 20) national sports associations (NSAs) that will take part in the Asian Games. All their preparations, including athletes’ fitness are in place. The schedules are being observed, training camps are being organised and injuries are being attended to almost immediately. I think everyone is prepared, and I don’t think there’s any area that needs to be rectified.
Q: As the CDM, what are your responsibilities?
A: My responsibilities are to ensure the athletes are in peak form, compete and not affected by issues that may impede their performance.
I have been working closely with staff of the National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI) and Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to make sure that everything runs smoothly, even right down to the transportation from the athletes’ village to the venues.
Q: What are your expectations?
A: My expectations are the athletes give their best to meet their targets.
Most of the NSAs will say the top three countries that pose the greatest challenge are China, Japan and South Korea. These are the giants of Asian sports and in a lot of sports, they will be the countries to beat for our athletes to win medals.
Q: Have you set a medal target for the Malaysian contingent? A: No. It has not been set because I have not finished meeting with the NSAs. It’s important to be made known that I need to speak to all (of the NSAs) and only then I will meet with NSC and NSI to see what their targets are. From there, we will do a submission and pass it to the Sports Minister, Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, to make the announcement.
Q: Has the change in government, following the 14th General Election, affected the preparations for the Asian Games?
A: No, it has not affected anything in any way. The old adage goes, “politics should not be involved in sports”, and it’s holding strong in Malaysian sports.
Politics shouldn’t feature in sports because at the end of the day, it’s all about merit. If you are the fastest, then you are the fastest, and it doesn’t matter what colour you are, what race and such. I don’t see how it’s affecting the preparations for the Asian Games.
We have seen changes in the line-ups of the NSAs. Ministers or members of parliament have resigned from their posts, others did not seek re-election. But for the athletes themselves, it doesn’t affect their performance or training schedules.
Q: You’ve visited the athletes. What was your advice to them?
A: I’ve not met all the athletes because many of them are not around as they are overseas for competitions or training. But the ones I have met, I hope I have somewhat motivated them by telling them that the hopes of the nation are on their shoulders. I told them that I would like them to show Asia that we are a powerhouse when it comes to sports. This is especially true for the Podium (Programme) athletes because a lot of money has been spent on their training, auxiliary requirements, and this is the time to show that the expenditure has not gone to waste.
I also tell them, “go out there, do your best and have fun at the same time”.
Q: What measures will you take to ensure Malaysian athletes are not involved in another doping scandal?
A: As you know, Malaysia has quite a reputation when it comes to this (doping), especially in multi-sport events. In every meeting with the NSAs, this is an area I have been pushing relentlessly, which is on our zero tolerance policy on doping.
I have had meetings with the National Anti-doping Agency (ADAMAS), especially with Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz (ADAMAS director), and we have come up with initiatives that show we are very, very serious about this.
Q: After your appointment as CDM, what were your initial thoughts, and what impact you hope to have on the contingent? A: When I was first appointed, I sat down with a few people from NSI and also NSC to ask them for some guidance. From that meeting, I concluded that I needed to meet all the NSAs with a set agendas and I listed a number of people that I needed to meet.
As I have mentioned earlier, this is what I wanted to do with each sport and that’s why it’s taken so long because we’re talking about 35 NSAs.
Q: Who and which sport do you think can deliver? Who and which sport will be a big surprise?
A: I think the ones that can deliver are the ones that have been delivering all the while... the Podium athletes, diving, bowling, wushu, karate and we’re confident they will be able to meet their targets.
The surprise would be from the sports appearing for the first time such as jet ski because from our discussion, Malaysia is ranked quite high in the Asian ranking and our athletes are confident enough of a podium finish.
The other one is skateboarding. Again, it’s the first time being featured and we don’t know much about it but their performances in the past have not been on the radar but they (Malaysia Extreme Sports Association) are saying they are confident of a podium finish as Malaysia is quite well regarded in the Asian circuit.
Q: What are the final numbers for the Malaysian contingent to Indonesia?
A: Four hundred twenty-six athletes from 37 NSAs to compete in 207 out of 463 events.
As for the officials, we’re looking at 500 plus and that is because we are participating in more sports (than previously) and at three sites — Bandung, Jakarta and Palembang. A lot of team sports are also involved, like hockey. We’re not talking
Q: How do you feel about beCDM ing the for Malaysia’s largest ever contingent to the Asian Games? Does more athletes mean more medals?
A: I think with more athletes competing, the better the chances of us doing well. But by the same token, we can also be at an disadvantage because there is no real focus.
Take bridge for instance. Everybody is asking why (Malaysia is taking part). That is not my call. We have a team of four going for bridge and one of the athletes there can be regarded as the oldest in the contingent at 81. We have from skateboarding, a 70year gap between our oldest and youngest athlete.
Q: What you hope to see in the final five days before the
Asian Games start on August 18?
A: I don’t want to see any injuries to athletes because this will really upset the whole planning.
It would be nice to have some kind of budget for us to have some nice attire but I think it’s a bit too late because you can’t be asking a supplier to make suits for 600 people in three weeks.
The needs of the athletes can appear to be petty to you and me but it does affect them psychologically. If the size of the tracksuit is different, it could affect them, and they might think that we don’t care. I need to make sure that doesn’t happen and that the athletes’ welfare comes first. I have to check their shoes’ sizes and attire, this small, small things that can affect their mind and contribute to poor performance when the bigger things are already taken of.
Q: What would be the difference being the CDM for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games?
A: Next to the Olympics, the Asian Games is the biggest. You have about 40 countries and quite a number are big countries. The Commonwealth Games may have more countries participating but many of the countries are small.
And this one (Asian Games) you are talking about the three superpowers (China, South Korea and Japan), and then you have India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. These are powerhouses, and we have to be up there among them.