Manage training, tournament well to prevent athletes' injuries – Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin hopes the sports management, the athletes and the coaches will be wise in conducting the training schedules and the warm-up tournaments.

He said this is to prevent injuries among the athletes which could affect their chances of representing the country since the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games ( KL2017) is just three weeks away.

“Injuries is part of sports. But whatever we can avoid, we should do so as nobody wants to be injured. They should know how to manage training and championship participation before the SEA Games.

“If an injury occurs, we cannot do anything. So we want to ensure all athletes are well prepared for the SEA Games,” he told reporters after attending an open forum on “Community Sports Hubs for All” at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, here yesterday.

It was learnt, several athletes sustained injuries while taking part in tournaments as preparations for SEA Games in August and the latest victim is national women's singles badminton player, Goh Jin Wei.

The 17-year-old player's participation in SEA Games is now doubtful after suffering a repeat injury on her ankle during the Asia Junior Championships in Jakarta last week.

Jin Wei picked up the injury during the Malaysia Masters in Sibu in January but returned to action three months later and since then took on a packed schedule. She qualified for the final of her first senior level tournament at the Taiwan Open in early July, followed by her victory at the ASEAN School Games in the women's team and singles events.

The teenage player was later fielded in the Asia Junior Championships in Jakarta in the mixed team event but was forced to withdraw before the semi-final against Indonesia after the same injury erupted.

Malaysia lost the encounter 13.