Young athletes must be given more chances to compete – Tunku Imran
KUALA LUMPUR: National sports associations (NSAs) which are supposed to emphasise on grassroots development of their respective sports, should give ample opportunity for their young athletes to compete in tournaments.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president, Tan Sri Tunku Imran Tuanku Jaafar said it was important for the young athletes to gain useful experience and receive the best training possible, for the future of Malaysian sports.
''Next year is going to be an even more hectic period for Malaysian sports, with the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in April and the 18th Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in August.
''Malaysia also has made history with a qualification in the men's figure skating competition by Julian Yee at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in February. Indeed it has been a busy and generally fruitful year, with the NSAs continuing to work hard to raise the bar for their respective sports," he said in a year-end message, here, today.
Tunku Imran said the NSAs had to make an extra effort to stand on their own feet and keep up with the professional era to ensure that their organisations were well managed with the interest of athletes always at heart. - MORE
He said the success of Malaysian athletes at the 29th SEA Games was the best platform to step up and aim for higher achievements at the Asian and world levels.
"I must congratulate all parties for making the Games a huge success starting from the Ministry of Youth and Sports headed by Khairy Jamaluddin, who was also the chairman of the Malaysia SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC)," he said.
Meanwhile, Tunku Imran who has been OCM president for almost 20 years, said 2018 would see the election of a new president and board members for OCM.
"I hope all those who love sports will give the incoming management all the support and assistance that they have given me during the last 19 years or so. Sports will always be an important part of the fabric of life in Malaysia and also a catalyst for continued harmony.” - Bernama