Sabah athletes prepared for 19th SUKMA 2018
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's preparation for the 19th Malaysia Games (SUKMA) 2018 in Perak this September is going smoothly.
Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Masiung Banah said all athletes and teams preparation were going smoothly and according to plan.
"We are working hard to achieve our 'delayed' mission of 40 gold medals and all is going smoothly and on the right track," he said during an official visit to SUKMA venues in Perak yesterday.
Masiung, who is also chairman of the Sabah SUKMA Working Committee, said that sports associations have also begun centralised training of athletes and that some have been sent for higher level competitions to gain exposure.
"We will continue to strive to achieve the delayed mission and soon we will announce the number of athletes (joining SUKMA) and number of sports they will compete in," he said.
Masiung however hinted that Sabah would take part in roughly 17-21 sport events.
On his visits to the SUKMA venues, Masiung said it was part of the early preparation programme for Sabah to face challenges at the country's biggest bi-annual sporting carnival.
The delegation with Masiung included permanent secretary to the Youth and Sports Ministry Datuk Awang Damit Ag Anak, Sabah Sports Board chairman, Datuk Louis Rampas, general manager Datuk Penyuki Matta and Sabah Sports Council director, Terrance Pudin.
"The Sabah Youth and Sports Ministry would like to thank the Perak SUKMA Secretariat who have provided a briefing on their preparation as host. We understand that all districts in Perak are involved in organising SUKMA either in competition or accommodation venues," Masiung said.
For the record, Sabah for the first time set the highest target of 40 gold medals at the previous SUKMA in Sarawak two years ago but achieved only 25. They also bagged 37 silver and 38 bronze medals.
Sabah were seventh overall among 15 contingents which included Brunei as an invitee.
The top six contingents were Selangor (59g,73s, 63b), Sarawak (5743-59), Terengganu (47-42-44), Federal Territory (40-44-40), Pahang (30-25-22) and Penang (26-12-29).