Do more to help develop aspiring young athletes — club

KOTA KINABALU: Human Sports Athletic Club hoped that better attention could be given to help develop the talent of aspiring young athletes who competed in the 31st Track and Field Meet organised by Federal Athletics Association of Kuala Lumpur in Bukit Jalil, earlier this month.

Jane Mojulat, a spokesperson for the Penampang-based club (HSAC), which is dedicated to helping underprivileged young athletes achieve their potential said so as many of Sabah’s athletic talents go unnoticed.

She said such talents included a local young quartet that had enough talent to win the silver medal in the 4x400m at the national-level event on August 4-5.

The student athletes, namely Raymondroy Brooklyn, Ferdinand Anthony and Mohd Sharizan Junaidi from SMK Bahang and Jason Alfino Chung from SM All Saints competed under the club’s banner.

And despite the odds of facing SUKMA (Malaysia Games)-bound athletes from all over the country, they still managed to win the silver medal.

“Their achievement proved beyond doubt the talent that they possess. I am quite surprised they have not been roped into the Sabah SUKMA squad,” said Jane.

“We have been working with them for several months to help them qualify for the meet and we are all so delighted that they were able to impress with their good achievement.

“I just hope there is more for them after this because we are just a small club and there is only so much we can do to groom their talents. I think these boys should be given better attention to further develop their athletic ability,” she added.

Jane said she was part of the club’s coaching team headed by Renald Peter. Together with other volunteers, they pool their resources to provide coaching services to help boost the athletic performance of talented individuals in and around Penampang.

“There are so many underprivileged students out here who are talented enough to represent the state but are just not getting the attention they need to fully realise their potential.

“We do what we can with our little effort from the club to try and enhance the performance of these talented young individuals.

“But we can only hope that they get noticed and roped in to join programmes with clubs or associations that have better funding and resources.

“They worked hard to achieve what they did. I think if given the attention they deserve, they can definitely make the State proud,” Jane said.

Towards this end, she said that Human Sports Athletic Club would continue to train and nurture the talents of local young athletes particularly those from Penampang.